Sinister Secrets
by Aponi Aquene
Summary: Swan Queen: Detective Emma Swan is the newest and youngest member of the SVU team. She's good at her job, gets it done and keeps a cool head. Well, that's until she meets a young assault victim, Regina Mills. A upper class girl burdened with dark secrets. During Emma's pursuit to protect her she unravels darker secrets than she could have ever imagined. Warnings inside. SwanQueen
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This idea has been driving me crazy and it wouldn't let me work on any of my other stuff. Basically it's a Once Upon a Time (Swan Queen to be more specific) crossover with Law and Order: SVU. I used the original characters from SVU because well, those are my faves. Besides I like to change things to suit me and the story. Anyway, in this story Emma is a part of the Special Victims Unit. Regina is a victim. AU of course. No magic.**

 **Let's see. Warnings include:**

 **-Very graphic**

 **-Violence**

 **-Rape**

 **-Abuse**

 **-Regina is underage for some of this fic.**

 **-Mentions of suicide/suicidal thoughts and self-harm**

 **-Mentions of incest.**

 **-Depression.**

 **Certainly not for the faint of heart. If any of these bother you or are triggers I ask that you please stop reading here.**

 **I did a lot of research for this but honestly this is just for entertainment purposes so everything may not be 100 percent accurate. Well neither is the show at times. lol.**

 **Cora is a piece of shit in this. Just a heads up.**

 **This story is very short. Literally like 5 chapters. It was originally a one shot but it was too long so I separated it. I'm currently working on the ending as we speak.**

 **Sorry for mistakes. I own nothing. Enjoy!**

Sinister Secrets

Part One

Emma flicked a paper clip across the old black top desk and hit her partner square in the forehead. The man grunted when it hit him and looked up at her. He chuckled before picking it up and tossing it back at her. She dodged it and it flew over her shoulder, clattering to the floor behind her. She licked her tongue out at him and he returned the gesture. She rolled her eyes with a shake of her head and an amused smile. Pleased with himself, Detective Graham Humbert simply chuckled and sat back in his seat. Emma grinned to herself. She couldn't have asked for a better partner.

Detective Humbert had been Emma's partner for the last six months. She had just been promoted so she was fairly new to SVU. Because of this, all of her co-workers still treated her like a rookie. Well, except for Graham. He saw her for what she was. A good detective. She solved her cases quickly and did what needed to be done. But since she had not been there long enough she was not a part of the secret club of seasoned detectives. They always treated her like she didn't know what she was talking about or she didn't know what she was doing.

That factored in with the fact that Emma was the youngest detective in SVU made her seem like a joke to everyone else. Emma was tired of that. She paid her dues, worked hard and got promoted fair and square. She was just as good a detective as anyone else. They all had to start somewhere. There was a handful of detectives who treated her like a real cop though. She appreciated them.

"Hey Kids, knock it off." Detective Elliot Stabler said as he strolled passed their desks. Emma looked over at him and he smiled which was rare.

"How was your weekend, Emma?" His partner Olivia Benson asked as she passed her as well, dressed in a white blouse and black slacks.

Emma liked them enough. They were both older than she was and had been on the job longer but instead of judging her or not taking her seriously, they took her under their wing and treated her like a little sister if anything. They were a little overprotective at times and always on her case but they meant well. That is all that mattered. She appreciated that since that meant someone would always have her back. Well other than Graham.

"Pretty good." Emma said with a shrug. "Me and my kid hung out. I took him to Chuck E. Cheese. He had a blast."

Olivia chuckled. "That sounds so sweet. I want to see pictures."

Emma laughed. "You got it."

"How old is little Henry?" Elliot asked as he sat at his desk that was located right behind Emma's. Just like hers with Graham's, his was turned to face Olivia's and they were pushed together.

"Six."

The man laughed. "Aren't they cute at that age?"

"He's so adorable." Emma agreed. Her son Henry was her world. She had him at only seventeen and she had no idea how she was going to raise a kid when she could barely take care of herself but she never wanted to give him up. She couldn't imagine putting him into the system that had let her down so many times. She decided to take her chances and she's glad she did. They had an amazing life just the two of them.

"Enjoy it now. The teenage years are... meh." Elliot said only half joking. "You'll want to kill them more often than not."

Emma snorted. "Can we even say that in here?"

"Who's telling?" Fin asked as he walked passed the desk with a stack of files in his hands. Emma chuckled.

She shook her head. "Henry's always gonna be my sweet boy."

"Eh... yeah, yeah." Elliot said waving his hand dismissively. "Keep telling yourself that. I just wish I had someone to warn me."

"Hey. Traumatize, you mean." Olivia argued.

"Call it what you want." Elliot laughed. "I'm trying to help."

Emma chuckled. She started to say something else but the sound of something heavy hitting the wood of her desk cut her off. She looked up and found Munch staring down at her through his dark glasses. The tall, thin, older man had on an unamused expression. "Hey, you free? Wanna look through these files?"

Emma made a face. "Not really but -"

"Hey, look alive." Fin said from his desk. When they looked over at him, he nodded towards the entrance. Emma glanced over to see a girl walking in amongst the hustle and bustle of the other detectives and cops.

She looked to be very young. Mid to late teens. Maybe high school. Her dark chocolate hair was loose and flowing down her shoulders in silky natural curls. Her big, deep, brown eyes were wide as she looked around, observing her surroundings. She looked so small and scared standing there in a school uniform that began with a dark plum blouse with a crest on the side of the chest but Emma couldn't exactly make out what it was of. The rest of the uniform included a plum, white and black plaid skirt and a black tie. She had on black stockings that matched her black pumps. She did look young but her very grown up outfit and makeup said otherwise.

Closer examination of the kid's face said that something was wrong. The girl was in pain and Emma could see it and practically feel it. Something terrible had happened and Emma felt the pang in her gut. The feeling that she had to leap into action.

The girl's eyes scanned the room but then locked on Emma's big green ones. She watched her for a moment. Graham turned around to observe as well as Olivia and Elliot stood from their desks, preparing to ask the girl if she needed help. Fin and Munch stepped closer to see what the girl was going to do. She kept her eyes on Emma's though.

"Hello." The young woman said as she stepped closer into the office. Everyone stayed quiet as they could see that she had chosen Emma. "Um... I stopped at the front desk and they sent me back here."

Emma stood from her desk. She smoothed down her blue blouse and ran her hands down her blue denim covered thighs. She cleared her throat. "Okay. How can I help you?"

"I... Um..." The girl hesitated and looked around the office and noticed the sets of eyes watching her. She visibly swallowed and Emma could see right when the girl had lost her nerve. "Nevermind." She shook her head and began backing away. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

She turned on her heel and quickly began heading for the door. Graham turned back to Emma, a serious look in his eyes. "She needs help. It's all over her face, Em." He said urgently in his thick accent.

Emma nodded. She knew that. She didn't plan to let her walk out that door without finding out what her story was. Young girls don't just walk into SVU for nothing. There was something wrong and Emma wanted to help. She rounded the desk and jogged after the girl. She had almost reached the exit when Emma caught up to her.

"Hey." Emma said. The girl stopped in the doorway and turned around to face her. She had a grimace on her face. She brought her hands out in front of her and started fidgeting. "Are you alright?" Emma asked gently.

The girl shook her head. Her eyes began darting around the room as if she was waiting for someone to jump on her and attack her. Emma took a step closer in a comforting gesture but she was careful not to touch her.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked dipping her head to catch the girl's worried eyes. The brown eyes darted away from hers and lowered to the floor. Emma understood that. The lack of eye contact worried her. "Hey, let me help you, huh?"

The girl looked up into her eyes again. She gazed into them, searching. Emma had an idea what she was searching for. What everyone wants. Someone to trust. After a long moment, she must have found that in Emma because she nodded. "I would..." She began. She stopped before taking a deep breath and holding Emma's eyes again. "I would like to report..." She cut herself off again, clearly struggling with what she needed to say. Emma was patient. She could tell that this girl had been traumatized in some way. She was shaking and her voice was trembling. "I want to report a... a rape."

Emma's stomach dropped. She had a feeling and she hated when she was right sometimes. She had another feeling and she hoped she was wrong so she asked, "Who? Do you have any information about the victim?"

There was another long pause before the girl nodded and her eyes dropped to the floor again. She began fidgeting again with her hands and it took everything in Emma to not reach out and cover her hands with her own. Her eyes wandered up to Emma's again and Emma watched the lone tear trail down the girl's olive cheek. "...Mine." She choked out. Emma's stomach tightened into a knot and she immediately started sympathizing with this kid.

She cleared her throat to calm her nerves so that she could her job. "Okay." She said gently. She watched the victim before her and she could see her fighting off more tears. "Come with me."

The girl nodded. Emma turned on her heel and began heading back towards her desk. She could hear the sound of the girl's designer heels hitting the floor as she followed her. Emma grabbed her notepad off of her desk along the way and gave Graham a look that he immediately understood. She led the girl through another doorway, ignoring the looks of the other detectives. She didn't have time to explain what was going on. She needed to talk to this girl while she still had the nerve. She could have shut down at any moment.

They headed down a hallway and passed a few other cops. They nodded her way and she smiled in return. She glanced over her shoulder to see the brunette girl examining her surroundings curiously. Her curiosity just showed that she had never been in any trouble.

Emma stopped at an empty examination room. She pushed the door open the rest of the way and ushered the girl inside. The young woman didn't hesitate and Emma was thankful that she trusted her. That would make the questioning much easier. She stepped inside behind her and shut the heavy metal door. The girl stood in the center of the gray room looking around as if she didn't know what to do. The sun filtering in through the open gated window was the only source of light. Emma backed up and flicked the light switch, brightening the room further.

"Please have a seat." Emma said as she headed towards the metal table. She pulled out a metal chair and sat in it. The girl followed her over to the table and Emma motioned to the seat across from her.

She sat gracefully and crossed one leg over the other and folded her hands in her lap.

"Okay." Emma said opening the notepad. She clicked the pen. "I'm going to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"

The girl nodded. "Yes."

"Okay. What is your name?" Emma asked.

"Regina Maria Mills." The girl said softly.

"Okay Regina." Emma said with a small smile. "I'm Detective Emma Swan."

Regina nodded. "It's nice to make your acquaintance."

Emma nodded and tried to keep her eyes soft and her expression open to keep the girl comfortable. "How old are you?"

"I just turned seventeen." The girl said.

"Seventeen." Emma said jotting down the new info. "Are you in high school?"

Regina nodded. "Yes."

"Where?"

"Tribeca Preparatory Academy." Regina said.

Emma nodded and jotted that down as well. "Now you understand that since you are a minor I will have to contact your parents."

"No!" Regina cried and leapt to her feet. "No. Please don't tell my mother. She will kill me."

Emma watched the girl's calm demeanor fade to pure terror. Her eyes widened and her chest was heaving. She put a hand on her chest and began panting. She couldn't breathe and she appeared to be hyperventilating. She was going to pass out at any moment if she didn't get her breathing under control.

"Regina," Emma said standing. She stepped around the table towards the girl that was on the verge of a panic attack. "I'm sure your mother would be very worried and would want to know what happened to you."

Regina shook her head. "She already knows and she would kill me for telling." She muttered to herself but Emma heard it anyway.

"What?" Emma asked unsure of what she heard.

Regina shook head again. "This was a mistake." She said gathering her bookbag. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"You didn't." Emma said suddenly panicking herself. Someone hurt this girl and she was terrified of her mother finding out. Something's not right here. She needed to know more. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing." Regina said with a finality that told Emma that this girl was not going to breathe another word. "I have to go. I have an art lesson."

Emma sighed. "Regina... please."

"No." The girl snapped. "I should have never come here. It was all a misunderstanding and I overreacted."

"To what?" Emma asked. "What did you overreact to?" She pushed.

"Nothing." Regina said. She shouldered her bag and headed for the door. "Thank you for your time." She said softly before slipping out of the room.

Emma groaned and rubbed a hand over her face as the door slammed shut. Someone hurt that girl. Something horrible traumatized a seventeen year old girl. Regina was too scared to even speak anymore after hearing that her parents were going to be informed. That was a redflag. Emma's gut was screaming that something wasn't right. She wished that she could have forced her to stay but the law said that she couldn't.

Emma could relate to that. She's had things that had happened to her as a girl that she was too afraid to report and as a result the prick walked. Those are some of her biggest regrets. But Regina is still so young. Her world is so small and she couldn't think that far into the future to when she's Emma age. It was all about her life at the moment. Right then and there.

Emma just hoped that she would see Regina again but she also hoped that it wouldn't be at the morgue.

She grabbed the notepad and headed back to her desk. When she returned she found her co-workers staring at her as if they had been waiting for her.

"What?" She snapped. She was beyond frustrated.

"What happened?" Graham asked.

"That girl came flying out of here like you threatened to arrest her." Fin added. Emma rolled her eyes and plopped down behind her desk.

"She was raped." Emma said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"How old is she?" Olivia asked.

"Seventeen."

"And you let her walk out of here?!" Elliot asked in disbelief.

Emma gave him a side glance. "When I told her I had to contact her parents she retracted it. Said it was a misunderstanding. I couldn't hold her."

Olivia groaned. Clearly sharing Emma's frustration. "That's frustrating."

"You don't believe her?" Graham asked.

"Nope." Emma replied. "She was definitely raped. Or abused in someway. She's terrified of her mom. She damn near had a panic attack at the thought of her finding out what happened to her..."

"Shit." Graham hissed.

"I know and I can't prove a damn thing without her statement."

"What are you going to do?" Graham asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know."

"Did she give you an address?" Olivia asked. "Or phone number?"

Emma rubbed her forehead. "Just to her school."

Olivia hummed as she nodded thoughtfully. "Give her some time to come back and if she doesn't go to her school."

Emma gave her a skeptical look. "Can I do that?"

"If you have reason to believe that she's being abused." Elliot replied.

Emma nodded. "Alright." She turned around in her seat. She looked towards the exit waiting for the scared little girl to come back. She hoped she would change her mind and want her help.

Emma knew that she would worry about that girl until she heard from her again. She wished that she would have gotten to give Regina her card. She hoped Regina would reach out to her before it was too late. She knew it was a long shot and right now all she could do was wait.

* * *

Regina stepped out of the elevator into the front hall of her penthouse apartment. She was late for dinner and she knew that her mother would give her hell for it and likely would not allow her to eat. That's why she picked up dinner and ate it on the way. She began shaking as the elevator door shut behind her. She knew that she was going to pay for her irresponsibility.

She often found herself wondering why she had to deal with this constantly. Why her mother wouldn't just let her go or why she wouldn't just kill her and be done with it. She often thought that death would be a better solution than living under the thumb of Cora Mills, socialite and wicked mother.

She's considered ending it all countless times. Wrapping her car around a tree or taking too many sleeping pills. But it always came back to how her death would hurt her father. She loved her father and he loved her and would do anything for her. He was the only person who sincerely cared about her but her mother ripped him away from her after he divorced the woman. She wouldn't allow him to see Regina anymore. Regina hasn't seen him since she was twelve. She secretly video chats with him or calls him sometimes though but that's not enough. She needs him there with her to protect her.

She currently had no one to protect her. She regretted not telling the detective what was going on at home. Perhaps she could have helped her but when she mentioned informing her mother she panicked. She knew what the punishment would be and she didn't want that so she lied. She'd rather endure that torture than her mother's wrath and that's for sure.

She swallowed and began creeping across the dimly lit hallway towards the stairs holding her breath, careful not to make a peep. She managed to make it to the stairs that led to the second of the three floor apartment and put her foot up onto the first black carpet covered step before a voice sent a shiver down her spine. Her stomach dropped and she immediately began shaking violently.

"Regina!" The voice boomed. Regina slowly turned her head to find her mother standing there with a hateful glare in her eyes and a snarl on her lips. "Where the hell have you been?" She hissed.

"I'm s-sorry." Regina stammered. "My lessons..."

"Ran late?" Cora asked impatiently. Regina released the breath she had been holding. She feared that her mother wouldn't believe her or worse she wouldn't care and punish her anyway.

Regina nodded. "Yes Mother."

Cora sighed. "I need to speak with that teacher of yours."

Regina nodded. She knew that her art teacher would cover for her even though she didn't even show up that day in loo of going to the precinct where she accomplished absolutely nothing but wasting a kind detective's time.

"Anyway..." Cora said waving that off. "You have company. Go upstairs and get ready."

Regina's stomach churned. She knew what that meant. That disgusting man. She began to itch and her skin felt like it was crawling as she thought of his rough, sweaty, disgusting hands all over her, his weight on her as he laid on top of her, squashing her and immobilizing her, making it difficult for her to breathe. Not like she would want to breathe. She didn't want to smell his sweat or any of him. She felt nauseous. Cora must have seen it all over her face because she slammed a hand down on the golden banister causing Regina to jump.

"Now Regina," Cora said in a threatening tone that made Regina want to flee but she knew that her mother would only catch her and the punishment would be harsh. Cora raised a hand and Regina flinched bracing for the blow. Instead Cora began waving a finger in the girl's face right in front of her nose. "He told me about what happened last night. Did you really start crying?"

"It hurt!" Regina cried.

"That's no excuse." Cora threw back. "That is no excuse. Pain is a part of being a woman."

"I wasn't ready. He didn't give me a chance to get ready." Regina whispered. "He hurt me, Mother."

"Enough!" Cora snapped. "You should have prepared yourself for him. A real woman is ready on command."

Regina felt the pressure in her head as she felt the impending tears building up. Memories of the night before returned to her and she could feel everything. Him forcing himself inside of her. The pulling and tearing. The soreness and the ache as he moved on top of her, thrusting again and again with way too much force for someone her size. There was bruising on her waist and hips from where he grabbed her to hold her still or to get a better grip so he could go deeper. Much too deep for her. She feared that he would rupture something. She panicked that morning when she found that she could barely walk and she had been bleeding.

She was a virgin the night before. She never thought that she would lose her virginity like that. She felt like everything was taken from her in those moments and she could never get it back. That was a pain that she could never describe.

Cora grabbed Regina's arm and Regina hissed as her nails cut into her flesh. Her other hand reached up and grabbed her jaw doing the same thing but not deep enough to mark her face. Cora wanted to keep her daughter beautiful and enticing so she was careful not to mark her face but when it came to the rest of her where most people couldn't see, it was fair game. She had the marks to prove it.

Cora didn't always use physical punishments though. Her tactics ranged from intimidation to not allowing her to eat for days. Cora also enjoyed humiliating and demeaning her. Making her feel small and weak. Then again her mother could do that with a single look.

Regina was broken. She had been since she was a small child. Cora loved to control her. She did that to everyone in the household. That's why her father left and shortly after her older sister, Zelena did as well. The girl set off for college and never looked back. Regina missed her sometimes as well but then she reminded herself that she left. She left her there to endure this alone.

She was left all alone with Cora.

Well not alone since her mother started bringing her friend by. Her last chance at getting back in with the Manhattan socialites since she was ousted by their friends when her husband left her. She saw a way back in with the millionaire but he had no interested in her. The man had interest in her teenage child. Cora saw Regina as her ticket and gladly allowed the man to have her daughter.

Regina was the sacrificial lamb for her to get back into the NYC social scene. She would do anything to make sure that it happened and no one, not even her own child was going to stand in her way. Regina knew this.

"You are going to get herself ready." Cora said. "Do you understand that it only feels good to them when we are properly lubricated? Your tightness only means so much. They want lubrication. The natural kind. Pretend you are enjoying him. Moan a little bit. Don't cry."

"But Mother-" Regina said but she whimpered when her mother's nails dug deeper into her arm. Cora shook her and that's when the tears started flowing again. "Please don't make me. It hurts."

Cora growled. "Regina, you need to grow up. I blame your father for this. He was always coddling you. That is why I separated you from him. You couldn't be a woman with him treating you like a child!"

Regina began sobbing then. She knew that she was not going to get out of this. She also knew that the torture was not going to be quick. Her mother was not going to protect her but instead throw her to the wolves. "Mommy..." She sobbed desperately. "Please..."

"Shut up, Regina." Cora hissed. She then shoved her back and released her. Regina hissed as her back hit the other railing. She just stood there and they stared at each other. Regina silently pleading and her mother silently threatening her that she had better do what she's told.

"Cora."

Regina's heart stopped and she looked up to find her attacker from the night before approaching them. He smiled when his eye caught Regina's.

"Good evening, Regina." He said with a lecherous smile that made the girl nauseous. "I am really excited to see you again. I hope it's not too soon."

Regina wanted to say it was. Never seeing him again was too soon. The man was her mother's age with a daughter only a year or two younger than she was. He disgusted her. She kept her mouth shut though and simply looked away.

Cora glared at her daughter and her rudeness. She calmed her nerves and turned back to their guest and forced a smile. "She's happy to see you as well. Just shy." She began to walk around the banister to the steps. She grabbed Regina's wrist sinking her long nails into it. Regina hissed and jumped but Cora said nothing and began dragging her up the stairs. "We are going upstairs to get her into a shower. She's been out all day. We'll get her nice and clean before she gets dirty again. Finish your drink then come on up in about ten minutes." She winked at him and Regina almost gagged before she was tugged up the stairs.

The walk to her bedroom was how she would imagine a walk to an execution. The closer she came, the closer she was to her doom. To think that a few days ago her bedroom was her safe haven. Now it was dark and she could barely sleep in it.

Cora opened the door and pushed her inside. Regina stumbled in and looked around. She found that the lights were dimmed and there were scented candles on her bedside tables. At the end of her bed laid a sheer piece of white lingerie. Regina grimaced at the idea that her mother was going to dress her up for him but there was nothing she could do.

Cora shoved her towards her bathroom. "Go get cleaned up."

Regina nodded and headed for the bathroom. She did what she was told because she didn't have any fight in her that evening. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She stripped away her clothes and climbed into the shower.

As the warm spray began to fall washing away the day and her makeup that was quite possibly a mess from all of her crying she wondered how her life had come to this. This miserable pathetic existence she was in. How could this life where she was her mother's punching bag and a random man's sexdoll had happened? She couldn't understand how she had lost control then she remembered that she never had any as far as she mother was concerned. She shook her head and let the tears flow. Her mother would never know that way. She bowed her head and allowed herself to cry for a moment longer. That's what she needed but the tears would never stop. Not really.

There was a harsh knock on the door and Regina jumped. "Regina, come along." Cora said.

Regina shut the water off and climbed out. She quickly dried herself off and opened the door. She stepped into her bedroom with the blue towel wrapped around her still. Cora was seated on the end of the bed with the lingerie in her lap. She patted the spot beside her. Regina hesitated when she felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach but she obediently complied.

She plopped down on the end of the bed beside her. Cora gave her a look before handing her the lotion bottle. Regina accepted it and immediately began spreading it on her skin. It was a nice scent. Very mature. Not like her usual apple blossom or apple scented stuff. When she was finished she handed it back to her mother who accepted it and handed her the lingerie. Regina took it and immediately dropped her towel and began putting it on. Cora then instructed her to lie on the bed. Regina scooted back on her queen sized bed and rested back on the blue silk pillows. She folded her hands across her stomach and waited. Cora climbed into the bed and laid beside her.

She gave her daughter a smile and Regina furrowed her brow. Her mother never smiled at her. It was always a glare or a look of disappointment. Never a smile. She smiled back just a little and wondered if her mother did really love her after all.

"This is good for us." Cora said as she let a finger trace down her daughter's cheek in an affectionate gesture. Regina frowned. "Just relax."

Regina sighed. She knew that her mother was not going to let her out of this. Status meant too much to her. She nodded. Maybe she will tell him to be more gentle. That would be something.

Cora reached for the hem of the material and pulled it upward and folded it over Regina's stomach, exposing the girl's most private parts to her.

"Look at you." Cora praised as she looked at her daughter's well kept and groomed body. "I can see why he likes you so much." She chuckled.

"Mother?" Regina asked in a broken whisper. She hoped her mother wasn't about to do what she thought she was going to do. "What are-"

"Relax." Cora said.

"I told her to relax." Came the familiar male voice that made Regina want to vomit. "She doesn't listen."

She looked over to see the man standing there, leering. His drink in his hand. The way he was blocking her doorway reminded her of a dark shadow from hell coming to devour her.

Cora chuckled. "She's new at this. She'll get the hang of it."

"I hope so." He said. "She has a lot of potential to be a good wife."

Regina listened to them as they spoke of her as if she wasn't even there. She knew then. She understood that her life would never be her own.

"I'll get her ready for you." Cora said as her eyes met her daughter's. Regina sighed and looked up at the ceiling. She knew what was happening and the worst part was that she couldn't even stop it.

As her mother's fingers found their way between her legs she squeezed her eyes shut and in that moment she wished that her heart would just stop and all of this would be over right then and there.

She just wanted it to be over but she knew that it never would be until it was.

* * *

Emma kicked her boots off and hung her jacket up on the coat hanger by the door. She was just glad to be home. It had been a long day and it was a little after nine pm. She planned to check on Henry, kiss him good night then head to the kitchen and raid the fridge for any resemblance of food.

All she wanted to do was sleep. In the few months she had been working in SVU she had been getting less and less sleep. Not only because the job was so demanding but most of the cases and victims stuck with her. Her first case was still at the front of her mind. It hit too close to home.

Some creep was picking up runaways, raping them and killing them. He didn't discriminate. Boys, girls, any age and nationality.

He would take them to his place leaving them to think they were going to have sex with him for money, food or a place to stay but instead he would tie them down, rape them repeatedly and once he was finished with them he would stab them to death. He kept the bodies until they began to rot then he would dispose of them in a public place.

Emma was so disgusted and devastated by this case. She kept thinking that it could have been her. Not too long ago she herself was on the street alone and having to do what she had to in order to survive. She understood them and felt an overwhelming need and duty to protect the rest of the street kids. She worked day and night and she would not give up until she brought that asshole to justice. He is currently serving a life sentence. She would have preferred the death penalty but what mattered the most was that he was off the street. She could breathe easier then. But her reprieve didn't last long because the very next day she was investigating the murder of a prostitute.

She hopped right back into the action. She worked along side the other detectives to investigate this case and bring this victim justice as well.

But that first case. That's how she knew that she was born to do this. Fighting for the defenseless and speaking for voiceless was her true calling.

This case of the young brunette who showed up that day was stuck in Emma's head and she couldn't shake it. The entire drive to her little two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn she thought about her. She had a bad feeling that she couldn't get rid of. It was like she was waiting for something even worse to happen. She felt so helpless. It's like seeing something bad happening and not being able to stop it. She knows that Regina Mills is being abused. Emma recognized the signs. She's seen them in herself when she was a teen. She wanted to show Regina that she cared though. She wanted her to know that she would protect her and she was not alone.

Emma hoped that the girl would come back one day and demand justice for what had happened to her. She could only hope though. She had to wait. She knew that Regina would some day get the courage. Emma could see it in her eyes that she really needed help and she wanted someone to know what had happened to her.

In time...

She would just have to find a way to deal until then.

Emma walked through her apartment to her son's bedroom. She could hear hushed voices outside the cracked door. She smiled to herself. She heard Henry say that he wanted to stay up so he could see his mommy then she heard the babysitter say that he had to go to sleep. Henry of course refused. Emma snorted then pushed the door open. She smiled wide and all of her worries faded away when she saw her son seated there with his arms crossed over his chest and a pout on his adorable face. He was in his little Avengers pajamas and he was underneath his Captain America blanket.

"Hey Kid." Emma said entering the room.

The babysitter looked over at her. They shared a smile. Ruby Lucas was more than a babysitter to Emma and Henry though. She was family.

She was a few years younger than Emma. Emma met her back when she was still on the streets. Emma would go into the coffee shop that Ruby's grandmother owned with barely enough change and Ruby would always give her a full meal. They became very good friends fairly quickly and Ruby offered Emma a job. Emma took it and it helped her when she became pregnant to take care of herself and her unborn child. Ruby and Granny helped her every step of the way with him, even when she decided that she wanted to be a cop, they watched Henry and helped as much as they could financially. To this day they still help her out.

Emma didn't have many friends but she certainly considered Ruby and her grandmother as friends and family. Her love for them ran deep. They were the closest she's ever had to family.

"Mommy!" Henry exclaimed and climbed up on his bed. He then began jumping up and down on the mattress. Emma chuckled. It would definitely be a fight getting him to sleep.

Ruby stood from the bed and stepped aside so that Emma could take her place. Emma walked over to the side of Henry's bed and the little boy giggled.

"Catch me, Mommy!" He squealed then hopped from the bed into her arms. Emma grunted as she caught him.

"Whoa. You're heavy, buddy." Emma chuckled. Henry nodded with a huge smile.

"Am I a big boy?" He asked with a wrinkle of his nose.

"According to my back... a very big boy." Emma sighed.

Henry giggled. "One day I will have big muscles and be strong like you."

Ruby snorted. "Same."

Emma chuckled at her friend and her son. "Definitely. But remember where I told you real strength comes from?"

Henry gave her a big nod. His wide hazel eyes locked on hers. "My heart."

Emma smiled. "That's right. Smart boy."

Henry smiled back and put his little arms around his mother's shoulders. "I missed you, Mommy. I'm glad you're home." He then leaned in close and rubbed his nose against Emma's. Emma chuckled then kissed his nose.

"I missed you too." And God she did. He's all she thinks about all day.

"Did you catch any bad guys today?" Henry asked as Emma sat him back down on the bed. Emma shook her head.

"Not today, buddy."

Henry frowned. "Oh."

Emma nodded. She knew that Henry wanted all of the criminals off the streets. She had a similar feeling but she knew the reality of that ever happening was slim to none. For now it was just his hope and hers.

"I'm on my way out." Ruby said softly. "I have class in the morning but I can swing by and pick him up and drop him at Granny's."

Emma shook her head and looked over at Ruby. "I can drop him off."

Henry stays with Granny at the shop while Ruby is in class or she's studying then Ruby picks him up and brings him to Emma's for dinner and bed. Emma appreciated that so much but she felt like it was a lot for them and every time she offers to get a nanny or a full-time sitter Ruby and Granny get offended so, Emma learned to just let them do things their way.

"It's no trouble, Em." Ruby reassured her. She looked over at Henry. "See you in the morning, Big guy."

"Bye aunty Ruby." The little boy said waving at her. Ruby walked around the bed and gathered the little boy into a tight hug. Henry giggled and hugged her back. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." Ruby said. Emma smiled at the interaction. Ruby and Granny are the only family that Henry knows other than her. He never knew his father. The man left as soon as he found out that she was pregnant, claiming he couldn't raise a kid. Emma never missed him. They're better off without him anyway.

Last she heard of him he was engaged to someone else and working a dead end job. She didn't care one way or another. Henry knew nothing about him and she wanted to keep it that way. He didn't need the man coming into his life and disappointing him like he done to her. Henry deserved better than that. She was fine and so was Henry. It was better with just the two of them. That was the reason Emma didn't date. She didn't have room in her life for anyone else other than the people that were already there.

Ruby kissed Henry's cheek. "I gotta go, Kiddo." She pulled away from him and waved. He waved back with a frown. "Don't be so glum, chum. We'll hang out tomorrow."

Henry smiled then and nodded. "And we can watch Aladdin?"

Ruby grinned. "You got it."

The little boy grinned back even wider. Ruby placed a hand on Emma's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Emma looked up at her and they shared a smile. "Get some sleep tonight."

Emma scoffed. "You do the same."

Ruby laughed. "What is sleep?"

"Well I'm a cop." Emma replied with a shug.

"Touchè." Ruby chuckled.

Emma laughed as well. "Let me walk you out."

Ruby nodded and headed for the door. Emma leaned over and picked up Henry. She sat him on her hip and the two of them followed the other woman out of the room and down the short hallway. They stopped at the front door.

"Goodnight." Ruby said after fastening her coat.

"Night." Emma and Henry both said.

"Get home safe." Emma added.

"And call when you get in." Henry demanded.

Ruby chuckled."Yes sir."

Emma laughed as Ruby stepped out into the hallway and headed down the small staircase. Emma shut her front door, locked it and walked over to her living room window where she peered out. She watched Ruby get into her car and pull off. She was always nervous when her friend left so late. She just hoped she'd remember to call.

"Okay." Emma said turning to her son. "Time for bed."

"Fine." Henry huffed making his mother laugh as she carried him back to the bedroom.

Emma helped him settle into his bed and pulled the blankets up to his neck, tucking him in. Emma kept thinking about Regina. She wondered if she was safe tonight. She worried if she was somewhere she could sleep or did she have to keep one eye open. She wanted to kick herself for letting this girl into her head but it was too late. She would worry until she heard from her again.

Henry looked up at her and furrowed his brow. "What's wrong, Mommy?" He asked catching on to her far off look. She looked down at him and their eyes met. She knew that there was no point in lying. Henry was very wise and intuitive for his age. He would see right through any lie she tried to tell him.

"A girl came into the precinct today." Emma explained. "She needed help but she got scared and left before I could help her."

"Are you worried about her?" He asked curiously.

"Yep." Emma nodded.

"She will be okay." Henry concluded confidently. "She will come back and you will save her because you're a hero and heroes always save people who need their help."

Emma smiled. "I hope you're right, Henry."

"I am right..." Henry argued. "You always help people."

"Well..." Emma sighed. "I will do everything I can."

"Good." Henry said. "That's how you will save her."

Emma's smile returned. "Thank you, Henry."

She loved that he was still so innocent and saw the world the way he did. He wasn't jaded like her. He didn't see the ugly parts of society and Emma wanted to keep that from him for as long as possible.

"You're welcome." He said brightly followed by a huge yawn.

"Okay sleep time." She said with a chuckle. He nodded and snuggled further into his pillows. "Wanna hear a story?" She picked up his big brown fairytale book from the nightstand that Granny and Ruby had given him as a gift. She traced her fingers over the words 'Once Upon a Time' that were written in gold letters. Henry loved fairytales. "What do you wanna hear?" She asked as she opened the book.

"Um..." He said thoughtfully. "Hansel and Gretel!" He exclaimed.

Emma laughed. "Hansel and Gretel' it is."

She began flipping through the pages of the worn book. She loved that she could do this with him. She had no one to read her bedtime stories when she was his age. Watching him fall asleep to the sound of her voice showed how soothing it was for a child. She wondered what it would have been like if someone had taken the time out to read her 'The Gingerbread Man'. Fairytales give hope. It shows Henry that even in this dark cold world there can be a hope that things will be better. Maybe in a way Emma needed to be reminded of that too. Perhaps reading those stories together was good for both of them.

She located the story and sighed. Here we go. "Okay... Hansel and Gretel." She read the title on the worn page. Henry smiled up at her and settled further into his pillows. Emma returned the smile as she began the story. At least this was one of the shorter ones. "Once upon a time..."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **If some of the svu characters seem ooc sorry. It was harder than I expected but I will try to do the SVU characters justice. Also you will find out who Regina's attacker is later. Everything will be explained in time. I promise.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi, sorry for the long wait. I had that really bad flu that was going around and I damn near died. Ugh. Anyway, when I started feeling better I didn't feel like getting right back into writing. My heart wasn't in it so, most of my stories are backed up but I plan to catch them up.**

 **Warnings: Mentions of graphic rape and violence. This may be disturbing for some people. Sorry for mistakes and I own neither of these shows or characters.**

Part Two

 _Three weeks later_

"Nice Henry!" Emma called to her son as the soccer ball came rolling across the green grass towards her. "Good kick, buddy."

The little boy grinned at her. "Right?"

Emma's brows rose and she snorted. "And so modest."

He giggled and stuck his tongue out at her. Emma rolled her eyes with a fond smile at her silly son. When it was within reach, she kicked the black and white ball back toward him. He ran to it and hit it head on, sending it back.

"Whoa Kid." Emma praised. "Awesome!"

The little boy did a little happy dance that ended with a cartwheel making his mother laugh. Henry definitely had her sense of humor. His father didn't have much of one, unless being the actual punchline of the joke counts. "Nice, kid."

Henry Swan was having a blast and that was all that mattered. They hadn't really had much time together lately. She had been working an awful lot. There was a case that she had been working on with Graham that had consumed all of her time. It was horrible. It involved a man targeting runaway girls. He was taking them in then, gaining their trust by supporting and helping them. He would then force them into prostitution, telling them that that was how they had to pay him back. Some of the girls were as young as thirteen. The disgusting crime was discovered when the body of a sixteen year old washed up on a beach in Brooklyn. Emma and Graham were so devastated by it all that they worked day and night. She remembered barely sleeping, eating or seeing her kid. She couldn't go home. Not until she tracked down the monster who was hurting those girls.

It took almost a week before the moron who was a two time loser slipped up again. One of the girls that Emma had been talking to came to her one day and told her that he had raped her. They quickly did a rape kit. The DNA came back to him. With the statement from the girls, the clients that Emma had put the squeeze on and the other evidence they've collected, the man was put behind bars.

The girls were sent to an organization that could help them. They were going to be okay and safe. Emma could finally breathe out a sigh of relief and return home to her son.

He was so excited when he saw her early that morning when she woke him up and informed him that she was allowing him to play hookie from school that day. She had planned to climb into her bed and rest but Henry wanted to hang out. She could not deny him that so she made him breakfast, dressed him and they went down to the park. It was still late winter but it was a surprisingly nice day. The sun was shining and it wasn't that cold. It felt more like spring. Luckily for them it was a perfect park day.

The ball came her way and she caught it and kicked it back to Henry. It sailed passed the little boy and he giggled, always the good sport, he ran after it. She watched him closely. He ran off a little ways to where the ball had rolled under a bench, picked it up and came jogging back to her. She smiled as he waved at her.

The park was quiet. Not many people were around given the weather. There was the occasional dog walker or jogger but aside from that she and Henry were alone. That is a good and bad thing. Just because she didn't see anyone that didn't mean that there was no potential danger. She learned that on her job. That's why she always told Henry to pay attention to his surroundings and he was very observant because of her teaching. She stayed focused on him but also paid attention to what was going on around her.

Henry kicked the ball towards her in an attempt to catch her off guard but for Emma Swan there was no such thing as off guard. She blocked it and kicked it back. It rolled back his way and right between his legs. He giggled and chased after it.

"You're supposed to catch it, Henry." She teased. He looked at her as he grabbed it from where it had hit a tree. He made a face.

"I know." He said. He dropped the ball down in front of him and kicked it.

As it rolled back her way, she felt a vibration in her pocket then she heard the ringing of her phone. She furrowed her brows. That was her work phone ringtone. She started to leave it at home that day but decided against it and now she regretted bringing it along. She groaned and held up a finger to Henry telling him she only needed a moment. She kicked the ball back to him and he picked it up and held it in his little hands. He then looked at her with his bottom lip poked out and gave her the puppy dog eyes that could get her every time. She sighed but to her surprise and relief, he let her live. He sighed then quietly went off to play on his own.

"Not too far." She called after him as she fished her cell out of her pocket. He looked back to her and gave her a thumbs up. She nodded in return before answering the call. "Swan?" She sighed putting the phone to her ear.

"Hey Emma, it's Olivia." Emma groaned internally. No not today. Emma loved Liv. She does. She's like the big sister she never had and if she had called her on her personal cell, she would have loved to hear from her but this was obviously about work. She just wanted to be with Henry. He was her tiny bit of light in this dark cold world.

"Hey Liv, how's it going?" Emma asked keeping a close eye on Henry. He was currently trying to juggle the soccer ball on his knees like she had taught him earlier. He seemed alright.

"I know today is your day off but-"

"I haven't seen my kid in a week." Emma sighed into the phone and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He barely remembered who I was when I woke him up this morning."

"I know, I know." Detective Benson said gently. "Just hear me out. Trust me, you will want to hear this."

"Fine." Emma relented. She agreed to listen to what Olivia had to say but nothing she said could get Emma to leave Henry today. Not a damn thing. Her son needs his mother.

"Okay so, Elliot and I got a call about a seventeen year old rape victim..." Olivia began her story. "We get there and examine the victim. The entire time in the back of my mind, I'm thinking that I know this kid but I kept pushing that thought away. When we finish and as I'm leaving the room, it dawned on me... Emma, it's your girl. The one who ran off a few weeks ago."

Emma's stomach sank. No. "Regina. Was it Regina Mills?"

Olivia sighed deeply. "She didn't have any ID on her but I think that's who she is. It looks like her."

Emma's brows furrowed as she stared out into the park. Why didn't she just ask her? A sickening feeling filled her when she realized why Regina couldn't have just told them who she was. "What's wrong with her? Is she...?"

"She's unconscious." Olivia answered. "She was found out on the street in her underwear, beaten and clearly sexually assaulted."

Emma's jaw tightened and she balled her hand into a fist. A tight knot was forming in her chest and it was making it hard to breathe. There was a crushing guilt. She felt that if she would have helped Regina the first time then this wouldn't have happened. "Who found her?"

"A cab driver. He was driving by early this morning and he saw a young girl passed out on the sidewalk. He pulled over and picked her up, put her in his car and drove her to the hospital."

"Hmm..." Emma muttered. "Is the good Samaritan still around?"

"Yeah. He's waiting to find out how she is."

"Good. Make sure he stays put. I have a few questions for him."

"Okay done."

"Liv, text me the info. I'm going to drop Henry off then I'm coming to the hospital."

"Okay." Olivia started to hang up but didn't. "Hey, Em."

"Yeah?"

"Look, I know it's your day off with your kid but I thought you would want to know about this. Hell, I would want to know if I were in your shoes."

Emma nodded although the older woman couldn't see her. "I know and I appreciate that. I'm just not too sure that Henry would."

"I'm sorry."

"Eh. It's not your fault. Thanks again, Liv and see you soon."

"No problem, Em and I will be seeing you."

Emma disconnected the call and shoved her phone into her pocket. She looked over and watched Henry play for a moment longer. His shaggy dark bangs were peeking from beneath his gray beanie -that matched his mother's- and was falling over his eyes. His cheeks had taken on a deep red along with his nose from the frosty air. He didn't let the cold bother him. Henry Swan's eyes were still wide open and a huge smile was on his adorable face as he played. Emma hated that the news she had for him would most likely wipe that precious smile off his face. He was going to be so disappointed. He could possibly hate her. She felt like a horrible mom in that moment but she had work to do.

She walked over the soft grass to where he was and stopped right next to him. He hadn't even noticed her presence. He was was too wrapped up in his game. He had no knowledge of what had happened to the girl that his mother felt responsible for nor the heaviness in his mother's heart.

"Hey Henry." She said softly. He caught the ball in his hands and looked up at her. His eyes examined her face closely and her grim expression then he sighed.

"Did someone die?" He asked.

"What? No!" Emma said quickly. She hated that her six year old even understood death but it was difficult to keep such things from him. She felt that she could no longer shelter him and at times she found herself speaking to him like an adult. "No but I have some bad news..." She squatted down so that she was somewhat leveled with him. She looked up into his face. His soft hazel eyes were watching her carefully. "Um..." She placed a hand on his back and began rubbing soothing circles over the material of his coat. "That was Liv. You know Liv, right?"

"She let me hold her badge." Henry said with a nod. Emma smiled. She remembered when she brought him to the station on one of her days off. Henry loved it. He thought Emma was the coolest mom with the coolest job in the world. Liv really took a shine to him and the two of them hung out for most of the day. Henry left there an honorary officer of the police department.

"Yeah. She's cool." Emma agreed. "Well, she called because she needs me to come in."

Henry frowned instantly. "Are you going to?" He asked softly. His eyes were pleading with her to stay. Emma felt a pang of guilt in her chest.

"I have to." She said sadly. Henry's eyes dropped to the ground and she could feel his disappointment. "I'm so sorry, Henry. I will make it up to you. I promise."

He nodded. "I know."

Emma sighed. At least he didn't hate her. He understood that his mommy had a job to do. "Do you remember that girl? The one I told you that was scared?" She asked softly.

He looked up then and nodded. "Is she okay?"

Emma gave him a sad smile. "They found her. She's in the hospital. Someone hurt her real bad. They think I can help find out who did it. I have to help her."

"You have to rescue her." Henry exclaimed. His mood instantly changing from dour to urgent. He saw her as a white knight who can rescue anyone and right now Regina was a young maiden who needed saving. "You're the white knight. You have to save her!"

Emma chuckled. "I'm glad you think so highly of me, Henry."

She wondered how many years of this she had left. How much longer was her son going to see her as some invincible hero? She would be the hero he wanted her to be for as long as he needed.

"Huh?" He asked with a scrunch of his adorable face. Emma shook her head with a small smile. They had to get going.

"Nothing, Henry. Hey, let's go so I can get to the hospital." She stood and waited for him to grab his soccer ball.

He tucked it underneath his arm then looked up at her and smiled before slipping his little hand into hers. She gave his hand a squeeze and the two of them headed for the brick path that would lead them out of the park.

* * *

The drive over the Brooklyn bridge went quicker than expected. Given the day and time, early morning on a weekday, mostly everyone was at work or school and she had missed rush hour thankfully. She doubted that her brain or her nerves would have been able to handle bumper to bumper traffic with the state she was in.

She chose to live in Brooklyn for that very reason. Manhattan was much too busy for her. Brooklyn was a bit quieter. It was just as high priced as the city but traveling was easier. Henry loved it there and so did she but her job took her all over the city.

She hopped out of her vintage yellow bug and headed straight into the hospital. She was pleased to find that there wasn't much of a crowd in there either as she stepped through the automatic doors and made her way to the front desk. A young nurse was sitting there and she regarded Emma carefully. Emma held up her badge and she seemed to relax then.

"How can I help you, detective?" She asked as she flipped some dark hair over her shoulder.

"Detective Swan, SVU." Emma announced. The woman's face instantly showed understanding and she nodded. She stood slowly.

"You're here for the young girl." She mumbled as she rounded the desk. Another nurse took her place instantly. "The girl is unconscious." She waved for Emma to follow her. "A nice gentleman found her and brought her in. He was worried sick. We all are."

"What's her condition like?" Emma asked as she followed her down the white hallway.

"It's not improving but it isn't getting any worse either so that's good, I suppose. She's malnourished but more so as a result of her choosing not to eat. She's also dehydrated. We found extensive injuries all over her body which point to an assault. Sexual I'm assuming."

"Was there a rape kit done?"

"Yes." The nurse answered. "I was in the room."

"And what can you tell me?"

"Vaginal tearing and bleeding. Bruising on her inner thighs, hips and buttocks. There were also some bite marks on her breasts and hand prints all over her." The nurse listed off. "There were also signs of her being tied up and burns inside of her. Most likely from being shocked."

Emma tightened her jaw and she tried to pull back her anger. At this point she just wanted to punch something and scream. She had a feeling that this would happen and to think it was worse than she could have ever imagined. That poor girl. "She hasn't woken up yet?"

The nurse shook her head. "No but she will. We believe that she has a concussion. It will take her a long time to wake up but she will."

Emma nodded. "Alright. The kit was sent in already?"

"Yes, ma'am." The women weaved around a patient in a wheelchair. "We should get the results back soon."

"Were fluids found?"

"She was covered in them." The nurse had lowered her voice, "From her chest to her crotch. There was some even up inside of her. She was full of it."

Emma wrinkled her nose. She was nauseous and she felt like she was going to be sick. "Okay."

"Emma..." She looked up to see Olivia heading her way with Elliot by her side. Emma and the nurse stopped in the middle of the busy hallway and waited for the other detectives to approach.

Detectives Benson and Stabler stopped directly in front of her. A few doctors huffed as they had to move around them. Emma didn't particularly care though. She had more important things on her mind.

"Sorry to pull you away from your kid." Elliot said as Olivia motioned for her to follow them. They began leading Emma down the hallway again. They were still on the ground floor which meant that Regina was still in triage and she hadn't been admitted yet. "I know how hard it is to get time with your kid."

"Eh..." Emma shrugged. "It's the job. Sucks big time but he understands."

"Welcome to SVU." The man said dryly. Emma looked over at him. Stabler had been on the job much longer than she had. He had kids about two times her own son's age. With that he must have been called away from them often or had to work late. He must have broken promises and missed parties, recitals or games before. From what she could tell his kids didn't hate him so, maybe there was hope for her and Henry yet.

"Yeah..." She sighed. "Well, the girl?"

"Oh Hispanic, brunette, late teens, brown eyes. She's about 5'4, under one hundred pounds." Olivia began listing off. "Trauma relating to sexual assault."

"She was found by a Mr. Calvin Wilson." Elliot read from his notepad. "A driver who happened to be driving by and saw the girl passed out on the street."

Emma nodded. "Does this Calvin Wilson have a record?"

"Nope. Clean as a whistle no priors. A few tickets is the most we've found." Olivia replied.

Emma nodded again. "Okay so what's his story?"

Elliot sighed and looked down at his pad again. "He was driving home from a night shift. He was coming down Soho then he saw what looked like a body. He stopped the car, climbed out and checked them. He saw that it was a young girl and that she was still breathing so he gathered her up and put her in the backseat of his car and brought her here."

"He's still here waiting to hear if she's alright." Olivia added. "In case you want to speak to him yourself."

"Nah. You can cut him loose. Just tell him not to go far. I might have more questions." Emma just wanted to see Regina and find out what kind of state she was in. "He gave you the exact address of where he found her?"

Olivia responded. "Uh huh, Munch and Fin are over there now."

Emma nodded. Their team was always on it and organized. That is why they're the best at what they do. "Great."

"This is it right here." Olivia said as they came to a room. Emma glanced in through the open door but she couldn't see much. She could hear the beep of machines but that was about it. She could only see the girl's sock covered feet because the rest of her was covered by a blue and white curtain.

She inhaled sharply when she realized that Regina wasn't moving. She knew that she was unconscious but she was hoping she would have awoken by the time she arrived but she hadn't. Emma gave the other detectives a nod and then the nurse.

She then stepped inside of the room without a word. The first thing she noticed was a how quiet it was and the second thing was that it was cold. She needed to remember to ask the nurse for another blanket for Regina.

Regina's bed was all the way at the back by the window and the other bed that was closest to the door was empty. She wondered why that was but it was probably for the best though. She doubted Regina would want any company when she awoke.

She walked up to Regina's bed. She took a deep breath and reached out a hand for the curtain. She wrapped her hand around the soft material and began pulling it back to unveil the occupant of the bed.

What she saw shouldn't have shocked her given her line of work but it did. Maybe it was because she knew the victim when she was awake and somewhat healthy but she could barely stand the sight of her like that.

Regina was lying on the hospital bed. Her eyes shut which were both black and blue all around them and swollen. She was a sickly pale color. Skinny, frail and weak. Her face was covered in red marks and bruises. The girl's lip that was covered in a dark lipstick last time Emma saw her was now split and swollen. Emma's eyes traveled down to the teen's throat which was sporting an angry red mark like someone had strangled her. Her wrists were bandaged up and one of her arms was in a sling.

The rest of her from her collar down was covered up by the hospital gown and blanket. Emma was slightly thankful for that because she couldn't take much more.

"The doctors expect her to make a full recovery." Emma heard Olivia say from behind her. "There is no serious head trauma and her organs are fine."

"But she never will be..." Emma whispered. "She will never be okay after this and she trusted me."

Olivia fell silent and just watched Emma as she internally berated herself. She's been there. In fact they all have. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

"Isn't it?" Emma asked dryly.

"It's not." She placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. "It's the perp's fault. The monster who thought it would be a good idea to rape a seventeen year old and nearly beat her to death. You did your job, Emma. She didn't want to talk and you couldn't make her. There is nothing you could have done."

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better...?" Emma whispered, her eyes not leaving the girl before her.

"Because you won't until you catch that son of a bitch." She gave Emma's shoulder a squeeze. "Listen, have I ever told you the story about the case that almost made me quit?"

Emma shook her head without looking up. "No. But according to Munch you almost quit a lot of times."

Olivia chuckled. "That's true. This job wears on you that way but in the end you wonder who would do the job if you won't. Most people don't have the compassion and passion that we have for this job. Some see these victims as just that but we see them for what they are, people. People with families and feelings. This job needs people like us."

Emma looked over at Olivia then. She had a point. She doubted that any of the homicide detectives could do her job as well as she did. They didn't have it. Most people didn't have it. "You're right."

Olivia smiled a bit. "So this case... this woman came into the station claiming that she had been raped. She was completely wasted, sloppy drunk, screaming about someone locking her in a dungeon and forcing her to marry him."

Emma made a face. "What?"

"Exactly. I didn't believe her. I figured she was drunk and maybe she imagined that. I sent her home to sleep it off. Didn't hear from her again so, I forgot about her all together. Some time later the same thing happened again. A victim came up with the same story and another and another. It took me a moment to put the pieces together but then I realized that the woman had been telling the truth."

"What happened?" Emma was curious.

"I felt so guilty because I thought I had let her down. I was going to walk right out of the station without looking back but I didn't. Someone told me that I needed to stay because these people needed me."

"Did you catch him?"

Olivia snorted. "No. Someone killed him."

"Oh..."

"Yeah but what's important is that I stayed because regardless of my mistake I never gave up. What you can do for Regina now is find who did this to her. Lock them up and make her feel safe again. Don't beat yourself up."

"Okay." Emma sighed. Liv is right. She needed to get her head in the game. "Let's do this."

Olivia nodded her head. "Okay so can you confirm that this is the girl that you saw in the station?"

"That is Regina Mills." Emma said. She was positive.

"What was the name of her school again?" Olivia asked.

"Tribeca Preparatory Academy." Emma muttered.

"I'm going to see if we can get some phone numbers for her. Perhaps her mother."

"When you do... can I do the call?"

Olivia watched Emma for a moment and gave her shoulder another squeeze. "You got it." She said before pulling her hand away. Emma watched her go until she slipped out of the room.

She turned back to Regina. She was thankful that she wasn't hooked up to any tubes or machines. The most she had was an iv drip. She looked so pained even in sleep and Emma wondered if she should mention that to a nurse so that they could give her something. Well, it wouldn't hurt.

She reached out and took Regina's hand into her own. It was so cold because the room was. She gave it a squeeze. "Regina," she whispered. "It's me Detective Emma Swan. We spoke before, a few weeks ago. I really wanted to help you then and I really do now. I really need you to wake up now so you can tell me what happened to you." She watched Regina for a moment. There was no signs of her rousing. She nodded to herself. "That's okay. You don't have to wake up before you're ready but I promise I will find out what happened to you and I will protect you."

She knew that Regina could hear her in her sleep and she hoped that her words resonated and gave her some sort of comfort. She rubbed her thumb across the back of the smaller hand in her own. "You will be okay." She whispered again. "I swear to you."

She placed Regina's hand down on her stomach and began heading for the door. She looked over her shoulder one more time before slipping out into the hallway. She found Elliot leaned up against the opposite wall watching Olivia as she had the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear while she jotted something down in her note pad.

"Okay thanks." Olivia said into the phone. "I will let you know something as soon as we can. Bye." She hung the phone up and sighed. She looked over at Elliot then to Emma. "That was the school. They gave me Regina's home number, her mother's cell, her cell and the mother's office."

"Did they have any numbers for the dad?"

Olivia shook her head. "According to the school Regina's father is not allowed to contact her so they are not to contact him."

Emma furrowed her brow at that. That's weird. "Did they say why?"

"Nope."

She pushed off the wall and handed Emma the notepad. Emma accepted it and looked down at Olivia's handwriting. She envied how neat her writing was. Emma's was like chicken scratch and only she could make sense of it.

She fished her phone out of her pocket and stepped aside. She decided to call the mother's cell.

She began dialing the number. She took a deep breath and hit call. She pressed the phone to her ear and waited. It only rang about twice before it was picked up.

"Cora Mills. Talk." A cold female voice said through the line. Emma wrinkled her nose. She partially hoped that it was not Regina's mother but she knew that it was.

"Hello Miss Mills, this is Detective Emma Swan of the New York City police department." Emma introduced herself professionally. She paused to see if the woman would ask any questions but instead she remained silent. Emma cleared her throat awkwardly. "Miss Mills, I am calling about your daughter."

"Oh dear, which one?" Cora sighed with annoyance. Emma's brows rose. Regina has a sister? This is new information.

"Um... a Regina Mills."

"My youngest." Cora sighed. "What has she done now?"

Wow. Emma cleared her throat again trying to rein in her anger. Cora is the perfect example of a mother who doesn't care about her children. Emma hated parents like that. That was mostly all she ever encountered in the system. To think that Cora could care less about her own flesh and blood was upsetting. "Um... no. Regina has been hurt. She was found this morning on the street unconscious and beaten and apparently raped. She was brought into the hospital."

There was a moment of silence and Emma wondered if Cora did care after all. "Is she alive?" She asked dryly. Emma sighed deeply. Silly her for thinking that this woman had a heart.

"Yes but she hasn't woken up." Emma explained. "I would like for you to come in and give a positive ID on her."

Cora sighed. "You're saying that as if I am identifying a body."

In a way she was. Regina could not say who she was. For now it was just hearsay. "I just need to make a positive ID so that I can move forward with my investigation."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"Not yet. I would like to speak to you when you arrive though." Emma explained.

Cora huffed in annoyance. "When should I come?"

"To see your injured daughter?" Emma asked in surprise.

"You did say that she was unconscious." Cora pointed out simply as if she was talking about the weather and not her daughter. "What would my presence change?"

Emma took a deep breath. "In case she wakes up. She might want to see her mother."

Cora sighed. "Fine. Where is she?"

"New York Presbyterian." Emma said dryly.

"Alright. I am leaving my office now." Cora announced.

"Great. See you then." Emma said before disconnecting the call. She knew that it was rude practically hanging up on a victim's mother but she couldn't deal with Cora anymore. She hated her already. Poor Regina.

Emma pocketed her phone and headed over to Elliot and Olivia who were watching Regina through a little window in the wall of her room. Both of their arms were crossed and they were in a similar stance. That must be a result of working together for so long. She wondered what habits she and Graham would share in a few years.

"Spoke to the mom." Emma announced gaining their attention. They both looked over at her at the same time. "She's a real bitch."

Olivia smirked while Elliot chuckled. "How bad?" He asked.

"She could care less about this kid." Emma replied. "She literally behaved like I was asking her to let me pull her tooth when I asked her to come in and identify her daughter."

Olivia shook her head. "That's terrible."

"Poor kid." Elliot added.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Man, if someone told me Henry was hurt I would be a nervous wreck. I would fly to wherever he is to be with him."

Elliot shrugged. "Me too. But all parents aren't like us. Their kids aren't their priority."

"Then why have them?" That's a question Emma had about her own parents. She couldn't bear to think of not being in her kid's life or not loving him.

"Who knows." He said simply. "Some people just need someone weaker and smaller to push around."

Emma shook her head and folded her arms over her chest. "That is disgusting."

"Welcome to SVU." Elliot said repeating his earlier statement.

"Parents can be just as bad as the strangers." Olivia muttered. "It's a terrible reality."

Emma sighed deeply. That was sadly very true. She's seen it for herself. She turned to look at Regina. She was still unconscious and much too still. She just wished the kid would wake up. "Poor kid." She muttered more to herself but the other detectives nodded in agreement.

* * *

Emma decided to sit with Regina as they waited for Cora. The girl hadn't woken up in the hour that Emma had been sitting there. She watched the kid carefully and every once in a while glanced at her chest waiting for the rise and fall. It was weak but it was there. Regina seemed to be in a lot of pain and very tired. Whatever happened to her must have taken a lot out of her but she obviously still had a lot of fight in her.

Emma reached out and carefully wrapped her hand around the girl's smaller hand. She gave it a squeeze. She looked up into Regina's still emotionless face.

"Hey." Emma whispered as she rubbed her thumb back and forth across the girl's smooth skin. "I'm going to find out who hurt you and I swear I am going to protect you. You don't have to be scared anymore. The only one that needs to be afraid is that piece of shit that violated and beat you because I'm coming for him. I will make him pay, Regina. I swear to god, I will make him pay for even laying a hand on you. No one will hurt you again as long as I'm around."

She knew that that was a big promise, one that she may not even be able to keep but she meant every word. She will protect Regina and she will catch whoever hurt her. She knew that this kid had no one to look out for her but now she had Emma. Emma was a protector by nature and Regina was in good hands with the detective looking out for her.

She felt Regina's hand move a bit and then a squeeze to her own hand. Emma gasped and looked down at the hand that was tightly wrapped around hers, holding on for dear life as if Emma was a lifeline. She allowed it, imagining that Regina needed to feel safe.

Emma looked into Regina's face again. She was still unconscious but her expression had relaxed considerably. Apparently she was feeling safe with Emma. Which was good but Emma hoped she would open her eyes soon.

"Oh Regina..." She heard a voice coming in through the entrance to the room. Emma turned her head to find a woman standing there.

She was in a black pantsuit over a red, button down, silk blouse. The suit jacket was closed. She was wearing black pumps and her dark hair was styled to perfection. Her dark makeup and red lipstick gave away who she was. She looked like an older version of Regina. The resemblance between the two women was uncanny down to the woman's petite frame. It was more than obvious where Regina had gotten her beauty.

Emma reluctantly released Regina's hand and stood to her feet. She turned to address the new person in the room. She gave her a small friendly smile. The woman hadn't even acknowledged her presence for her dark eyes stayed on her child in the bed.

Emma inhaled a deep breath then stepped around the chair and began heading her way. She needed to get back to work.

"Hello, I'm detective Emma Swan." She said as she approached the woman. She offered her hand once she was within reach. The woman politely shook it and her eyes slowly drifted to Emma. "We spoke on the phone."

Cora seemed to snap out of it then. "Oh yes. Yes." She said quickly. "I am Cora Mills. Regina's mother." Emma nodded. That was a positive ID. Emma had been right but she hated that she was right this time. "What happened?" Cora breathed.

Emma could see the tears building up in her eyes and she could hear the shake of her voice. Either the woman was a pretty good actress or she really did care after all. She didn't know which it was at the moment. "She was found out on the street by a driver. He pulled over, picked her up and brought her here. She was observed and they found that she had been savagely beaten and raped repeatedly. She was found in her underwear so there was no ID on her and she was a Jane Doe for a while. A rape kit was done and we're waiting for results."

"Where was she found?"

"Gold Street?" Emma replied. "Does that sound familiar? Does she know anyone from over there?"

Cora shook her head. "No. My daughter's world is very small. It's restricted to her school and our neighborhood."

Emma nodded. She pulled her notepad out of her jacket pocket. "Does she-" she began but Cora cut her off.

"You said she had no ID so how did you know it was Regina?" Cora asked. "Did she wake up at some point?"

Emma shook her head. She was unsure how much to tell so she was honest. "Regina came to my station a few weeks back. She said that she was raped. I tried to get some info from her but she retracted the statement and left."

"Raped?" Cora asked in disbelief. "Someone had hurt her before?"

"Yes. That's what she said."

"Could this be related?"

Emma frowned. "I wouldn't know until I collected more evidence."

Cora folded her arms over her chest. "Alright. What do you need to know?"

Emma clicked her pen. "Where were you last night and this morning?"

"At work. I pulled an all nighter."

"Can anyone vouch for that?"

Cora nodded. "Most of my staff."

Emma would ask for their names and numbers later. "And you had no idea your daughter was missing?"

Cora cleared her throat. "Regina never leaves at night. I figured she was safe."

Well apparently not. "So you don't know where she was the night before?"

Cora reached into her purse and pulled out a face tissue. She sniffed a bit. "No. She didn't say that she was going out. I didn't speak to her last night and now I wish that I had."

Emma felt something in her gut that didn't quite sit right with her and she was sure it was not the cheap coffee that she had earlier. "Mrs. Mills, I'm sorry but I have to ask, is there anyone that would want to harm your daughter?"

Cora looked up at Emma like she lost her mind. As if the idea of anyone wanting to harm her little girl was completely crazy. "Everyone loves Regina. She's so sweet and quiet. She's also so beautiful."

"You mentioned another daughter. Is her relationship with her older sister okay?"

Cora frowned. "Regina hasn't seen her sister in at least three years."

Emma nodded. That was strange but she decided to leave it alone for now. "What about friends? Would Regina had told her friends where she was going or if anyone was bothering her?"

"Regina doesn't have any friends." Cora muttered as she dabbed at her dry cheeks with the tissue. "Well not anymore. Regina had a friend once named Kathryn Nolan. They were friends all through elementary to junior high but after they stepped into high school they stopped speaking. Regina retreated into herself and Kathryn became a social butterfly."

Emma nodded. She's heard tell of that happening. Sometimes people grow out of each other and go in different directions. That didn't make this Kathryn Nolan kid a suspect. "Is there anyone else? Every kid has friends."

Cora's eyes drifted to her daughter then back up to Emma. She let out an irritated huff. "There's this girl. Mallory Grey. I told her to stay away from my daughter but she doesn't listen. Regina is drawn to her for some reason and she confides in her even though I wish that she wouldn't."

Emma furrowed her brow at that. "Why not?"

"The little tart is nothing but trouble." Cora bit. "She parties, stays out all times of night and drinks. I'm pretty sure she's into hard drugs. The only reason she latched onto my daughter is because my child is weak. Regina is naive and innocent. A perfect target for predators like her."

Hmm. "Do you think she could have hurt your daughter?"

Cora shook her head. "No." She said without hesitation. "She wouldn't harm my daughter. She's a lot of things but I know she would never do anything to purposely hurt Regina."

Emma would still like to speak to her and see what she knows. "Do you know where I can find her? I have some questions for her."

Cora nodded. "Yes. She goes to Regina's school. Tribeca Preparatory Academy."

Emma looked at her watch and nodded. She still had time. "Great." She mumbled as she jotted down this new information. Maybe Mallory knew something. Any information would help. "Thank you, Mrs. Mills."

Cora dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Are we done here? May I go be with my daughter?"

"Um... of course." Emma stepped aside. Cora gave her a small smile and walked passed her and up to her daughter's bed. Emma watched the woman for a moment. Just observing to see what she could find about her actions.

"Oh Regina..." Cora whispered as she brushed some of her daughter's dark hair away from her forehead. "What happened to you, my love?" Of course the girl didn't respond not even physically. Cora hummed then kissed the girl's forehead. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay."

She sat in Emma's vacated seat and took her daughter's hand into hers. She kissed the back of it and gave her a squeeze. She looked so worried and upset. For a moment Emma thought that she had been wrong about Cora and she did care after all. She was just putting up a front to seem brave in the situation. She understood having to be strong.

Emma nodded to herself and decided to leave them be. She began heading for the door to begin her investigation but Cora's voice stopped her.

"Detective?" Emma paused in the doorway and turned to acknowledge Cora.

"Yes?"

"Please find whoever hurt my daughter." Cora whispered. "Please."

Emma nodded her head slowly. She would. "I promise." She said softly before leaving the room.

She glanced into the little window to see Cora looking up into her daughter's face. Apparently pleading with her to wake up. Emma shook her head before heading down the hallway. She swore she would find who ruined this family's lives and she planned to follow through.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Btw Mallory Grey is Maleficent. That's usually her name in my AU stories since she doesn't have a cursed name.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: sorry for the delay. Thanks for the patience and sticking with me.**

 **Mentions of rape, abuse, molestation and paedophilia, Killian bashing (kinda?), language, drugs and others I can't think of at the moment.**

 **I own nothing. Sorry for mistakes.**

Part Three

 _Tribeca Preparatory Academy. 325 Chambers Street, New York, New York. Wednesday, November 20th._

The detective knew that Mallory would have a bit more information on Regina and her personal life. Perhaps something she told her could help. At this point Emma had nothing at all and the frustration was already setting in. She knew that she should have just waited for the DNA results and hoped for a hit but she couldn't stay still.

After leaving the hospital she headed back to the station. She just wanted to show her face and check in with the captain. She had lunch with her co-workers then she was on her way again. Olivia decided to go with her since Graham was off that day. Then again, it wasn't like Benson would pass up an opportunity to get out of the station. Emma didn't object though. She could use the back up and the company.

They left the station and headed for the private school on the Lower West Side of Manhattan.

The two parked outside of the building and just observed. After a while Emma checked her watch. It was only three so a few of the students were just beginning to file out. She could make out that the kids were all wearing uniforms like Regina's with a crest on the left breast pocket of the sweaters. The boys were in black slacks, white dress shirts underneath cardigans that were a darker, almost royal purple. They were neat and perfectly pressed all of the way down to their black dress shoes. Even the ties were perfectly straight. The girls' uniforms were identical to Regina's. They wore ties as well. The dress code confirmed that she was in the right place.

However, she had no idea what Mallory even looked like so, her best bet was to ask around and hope that someone either sends them in the right direction or they would bump into her.

"We might have to ask around." Emma said breaking the silence in the car. "I have no idea what this kid even looks like."

"What's the name again?" Olivia asked keeping an eye on the students as well.

"Mallory Grey. Regina's mother mentioned another girl too. A..." She looked down at her notepad. "Kathryn Nolan." She read. "But I think Mallory is a better option. Cora Mills also said that Regina confides in her and trusts her. She should know if Regina was in any trouble or if someone was bothering her."

Olivia nodded. "Okay. Mallory it is." She opened the passenger side door and climbed out of the car.

"Oh." Emma muttered. She had no choice but to get out on her own side. She knew that she had chosen the right person to bring along.

Emma took her place beside Olivia. The other detective's height never went unnoticed by Emma. She had quite a few inches on her, almost a whole foot. Her dark eyes were always sharp and aware of all of her surroundings. She always dressed businesslike in a blouse, slacks and oh those heels. It couldn't be easy but she made it work for all these years. Detective Benson was the best of the best. She was an inspiration to Emma. Exactly the kind of detective she aspired to be. She was so glad that she had taken her under her wing.

They shared a nod before heading across the street towards the school. The building itself was huge, white and imposing with black double doors. There were black iron gates outside that were a few feet tall and Emma couldn't help but think that this place reminded her of a medieval castle. She wouldn't be surprised if it was built to resemble one. The rich upper class does think very highly of themselves.

They hopped on to the sidewalk and stopped at the open gates.

The children were chatting along as they walked down the pathway.

A group of three boys came racing towards the gates. They possibly knew something about Mallory or Regina.

As they came upon the gate, Emma stepped out in front of them. The boys gasped and all came to a screeching halt only a few feet away. They tried to correct themselves.

"What the hell, Lady?" The shortest of the three, a dark haired kid with freckles, exclaimed as he fixed his jacket. "What's your problem?"

Emma shook her head. "No problem." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her badge. "Detective Emma Swan." She introduced herself, holding up the badge. Olivia raised her badge as well. "And this is Detective Olivia Benson."

"We didn't do anything. Stop harassing us!" One of the boys exclaimed, this one dark haired and short like the other but a tad taller and he was slim while the other was a bit chunky. The third, a tall thin boy with blonde hair and brown eyes, elbowed him in his side. "Ouch."

"How can we help you, Officers?" The shortest asked. He seemed to be the mouth of the group so Emma decided to address him.

"Detectives." Emma corrected. "We're looking for Mallory Grey. Do you know where she is?" The boys began looking amongst themselves as if contemplating whether they should tell her or not. "If you know but lie I will arrest you."

"On what grounds?" The leader asked.

"A stash of coke that weighs more than you do." She threw back. She would never frame anyone but he didn't know that.

"You would plant drugs?"

"Who says they're planted?" She looked over at Olivia who smirked.

"Not me." Detective Benson said with a shrug. Emma turned back to the boys and raised a brow. She waited patiently as they hesitated.

It didn't take long for them to cave. "Fine but I need to know what it's about." He said. "I don't want to seem like a snitch."

Emma put her hands in her back pockets and smirked. The audacity. "You should really be worried about looking like a drug dealer."

The boy's hands flew up in surrender. "Okay, okay..."

"I have a few questions about a classmate of yours and I believe that she may have the answers that can help me..." Emma explained shortly. All three of the boys' brows rose and they looked at her curiously. "Regina Mills." She sighed.

"Oh Regina..." the one in the middle said. "She's so nice and cool. Whatever it is, she didn't do it."

Emma raised a brow. "Do you know her?"

"She sits in front of me in Math."

Emma sighed. "Was she in school yesterday?"

They all nodded. "Yeah."

Emma had some more questions for them. "Did she seem upset or worried at all?"

The boys shook their heads. "She's always quiet but she didn't seem upset."

"What can you tell me about her friends?" Olivia asked.

The first boy shrugged. "I just see her with Mallory and her friends. It's weird because I know that Regina is not into any of the stuff that Mallory is into."

"Like...?" Olivia prompted. She had been quiet for the most part since Emma was still learning and she often let her take the lead for that purpose.

"Sex, drugs, alcohol." The tall one filled in. Both of his friends elbowed him then. He yelped in pain.

Emma didn't particularly care about that however. She had bigger fish to fry.

"And Regina's not into that stuff at all?" Emma asked.

"Nope." The leader replied with a shake of his head. "She's super good. So we're telling you she didn't do it."

Emma sighed. "She's a victim not a suspect. She was assaulted and she's in the hospital. She's unconscious so I have to see what I can find out without her help."

The boys looked horrified and Emma could see that it was sincere concern. She was excellent at reading people. "Why would someone hurt her?" One asked.

"She's so nice!" The middle one exclaimed.

"I don't know." Emma replied. "That's why I have these questions."

"Well I hope you find the dickhead that did it. Regina doesn't deserve that." The taller boy declared. "No one does."

Emma nodded. "I will."

The shortest boy looked over his shoulder then turned back to Emma. "See that girl in the gray coat?" He whispered as more of his peers passed them.

Emma looked over his shoulder and spotted a bunch of kids heading their way. It took a moment before she saw the very tall girl approaching. She was in a long gray coat that looked like it cost more than Emma's yearly salary. "Yeah?"

"That's Mallory Grey and those two girls are her friends." He said. "They'll know more about Regina than we do."

Emma nodded, accepting this. "Great. Thanks boys. Now head straight home or wherever the hell you need to be."

"Yes Officer." They said in unison and began making their way around them. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Detective..." She grumbled causing Olivia to chuckle.

Mallory grew closer to them and they waited. There were two girls on either side of her. A blonde in a white fur coat and the other was in a purple leather jacket. All three girls were tall in fact and very pretty. They reminded Emma of the type of girls that used to push her around in High School until she started pushing back... with her fists.

She couldn't imagine Regina hanging out with the stuck up popular girls club but then again, Emma had to remind herself that she really did not know Regina at all. They were still strangers even though Emma felt that she knew her.

Olivia tilted her head towards the girls and stepped inside of the gate, telling Emma to follow her. Emma shrugged and followed her inside. The detectives weaved through the crowd of oncoming teenagers that had only grown since they began speaking to the boys. They approached the girls and stopped directly in front of the blonde girl, cutting off her path.

She had her head down where she was lighting up a cigarette so she hadn't noticed Emma. She damn near collided with her before Emma cleared her throat, drawing her attention. The girl's head snapped up and she gave Emma a long disinterested look as she came to a stop.

"The women's shelter is down the street." The other blonde girl said waving a long manicured finger in that direction.

Emma wrinkled her nose. "Cute..." She muttered with a shake of her head. Oh if she didn't need information from them she would definitely give that girl and her slaughterhouse coat a piece of her mind. Since Regina's safety was more important than her pride she turned her attention back to Mal who had efficiently lit her cigarette. "Are you Mallory Grey?"

The girl took a long pull from her cigarette before blowing the smoke out. Emma waved her hand in front of the foggy cloud and coughed a bit. The girl's deep blue eyes locked on Emma's and Emma found herself momentarily entranced by them. They were something like crystal with at least four different shades of blue at once. She had never seen anything like them. It was almost like a kaleidoscope with all blues moving at once.

Her eyes were very distinguishable and probably only belonged to her so if she ever committed a crime and someone were to describe her eyes, Emma would automatically know that this girl was guilty.

"Who wants to know?" The girl asked dryly as she released another puff of smoke.

Emma rolled her eyes and fanned the smoke away again. "Us." She held up her badge and so did Olivia. "Detective Swan and Detective Benson."

The girl shrugged. She seemed completely unfazed. "What do you want?"

"To ask you a few questions." Olivia replied with a small smile.

"What if I don't want to speak to any cops?" Mallory challenged passively.

"What if I asked for your ID?" Olivia threw back. "I'm almost positive that you are not of the legal age to buy cigarettes. We could put you in jail and your supplier."

"Oh come on, it's not coke. It's just a cig." The girl in the leather protested. The girl in fur simply hid her hand that held her own lit cigarette behind her back.

Olivia shrugged. "Still illegal."

Mallory dropped the cigarette to the pavement and stepped on it, putting it out. She sighed deeply as if this was a great inconvenience and stared at the detectives. "Happy?"

"Those things will kill you, you know." Emma pointed out with a hint of sarcasm. Mallory simply shrugged.

"We all have to die from something."

Emma raised a brow. "That's awfully dark for such a young kid."

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Can we get this over with? I have somewhere to be."

Olivia and Emma shared a look. Emma then turned back to the girls and shrugged. They might as well get it over with. "Yeah. Do you have somewhere we can talk that's out of the way? Private, I guess?"

Mallory tilted her head and turned around. They assumed she was telling them to follow her so they did. She began leading them back towards the school. Olivia and Emma of course kept their guards up even though they doubted that these preppy girls were going to try anything. They had to wade through the sea of students again until they reached the steps that led to the entrance of the school but instead of climbing them they rounded them. They continued until they came to a bench that was a bit off from the rest of the students. Enough so that their conversation couldn't be overheard.

Mal hopped onto the bench and perched herself on the back of it, placing her heeled feet onto the seat. Her friends sat on either side of her legs. The girls then stared up at them expectantly.

Emma sighed and pulled out her notepad. She couldn't understand why they were so impatient.

"What are your names?" Olivia asked motioning between the two other girls.

"Ella." The girl in fur answered.

"Ursula." Said the other.

"Poor Unfortunate Souls, huh?" Emma cracked.

The girl just narrowed her eyes at her before rolling them. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before."

Emma shrugged. She clicked her pen and looked up at Mallory. "So Mallory-"

"Mal." The girl snapped.

Emma held in a groan. "Mal... I have some questions for you concerning a classmate of yours. A Regina M. Mills."

"Regina?" The girl asked with a furrowed brow. "Why? Is she in trouble?" The girl's usual indifferent persona faded away and gave way to panic. The other girls looked worried as well. "Whatever it is, she didn't do it."

"Nope." Ella agreed. "Gina is a good girl."

"You have the wrong person." Ursula added.

Emma sighed. Why do these kids always think that someone was arrested? "She's not in trouble. Well she is... in a way. She was found early this morning unconscious on the sidewalk."

Mal's mouth fell open. "What? What happened?"

"She was assaulted badly. Sexually and beaten." Emma continued. "She hasn't woken up so she can't tell me what happened to her but maybe you can help."

Mal's face was still taken over by shock and pain. She clearly cared about Regina and was hurt by the idea of her being mistreated in any way. She shook herself out of it and tightened her jaw. "Yeah, I can help in any way you need."

Emma nodded. "Did you speak to Regina last night?"

Mal shook her head. "No. I thought that was odd because she usually calls me before bed so we can..." She smiled sadly. "Just talk a bit. It makes her feel safe just to have someone listen to her."

Ella scoffed. "Right. It's not like that bitch of a mother listens to anything she has to say."

"Cora?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, the world's biggest bitch." Added Ursula. "She literally banned Mal from their penthouse because Mal is a lesbian and she was getting too close to Gina."

Mal sighed. "I'm glad it's not a secret."

"God forbid anyone gets too close to Regina." Ursula mumbled, completely ignoring Mal's comment.

"What does that mean?" Olivia pressed.

"Cora doesn't allow Regina to keep friends. She always wants her home. She won't even let her go to the movies on weekends." Mal sighed. "It creeps me out."

"Why?"

"It's like she's too close to Regina." Mal explained. "Regina won't tell me but there's something not right there."

"That's why Lena left." Ursula muttered.

"Who?" Emma and Olivia both asked in unison.

"Zelena. Regina's big sister." Mal replied. "She moved out into a dorm at NYU and never came back. She had enough of Cora."

Emma and Olivia both wore matching looks of surprise. "Did she say why she moved into a dorm when her mother has a place in the city?"

Cora did mention that she had two daughters. Emma wondered if these girls could provide just a bit more insight on the older sister and her relationship with Regina.

"Just that she was a psycho bitch but we already knew that." Mal sighed.

"Is she still in contact with Regina?" Olivia asked.

Mal shook her head again. "Nope. Regina won't speak to her. She feels like Zelena abandoned her and frankly I agree."

Emma wrote 'Zelena' in her notepad with a question mark beside it. She wanted to ask Cora about her. "What about their dad?"

"Not in the picture." All three girls said in unison. "He went back to Puerto Rico." Mal added.

"Does Regina have any contact with him?"

Mal made a face. "Not that I know of. Cora won't allow it."

Emma nodded. What she was getting was that Cora is controlling her daughters and isolating them. As far as she could see there was no crime being committed though and Regina wasn't in any danger. "What about boyfriends?"

Ursula and Ella snickered then and Mal sighed deeply.

"What?" Emma snapped. She really did not find the idea of a young girl being sexually assaulted to be funny at all.

"Regina is gay just like Mal." Ella said through her chuckle.

"That's why her mother didn't want me near her. She knew how I felt about her." Mal drawled dryly.

Emma sighed. Okay so Cora didn't like the idea of her daughter being gay. Homophobes made her skin crawl but unless Cora hurt Regina for it, once again there was no crime. "Anyone else have a problem with it?"

"Nope not unless they wanted to deal with Mal." Ella spoke up.

Mal is somewhat protective of Regina. Just looking at this girl both detectives knew that she wouldn't harm Regina nor would she let her go somewhere that is considered dangerous. She obviously knew nothing about Regina's whereabouts. "Okay just a few more questions."

"Sure." Mal sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She looked anxious. "If it will help Gina."

"Have you noticed anyone taking a particular interest in Regina? For example... watching her or following her?" Emma asked. "Has she expressed concern for her safety?"

Mal fell silent and stared out ahead of them. After a moment she shook her head. "No... well, not really."

Emma raised a brow but Olivia spoke up. "What do you mean 'not really'?"

"Well there's this guy. An alumni... he graduated two years ago. He took a strange interest in Gina in our freshman year. He gave me the creeps but she figured that he was a nice guy. I knew better." Mal provided. "He stands outside the school with his friend Sammy Smee now." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He always chats Regina up whenever he sees her. He sometimes offers her a ride but when she doesn't have her car I tell him she's riding with me."

Emma tilted her head. That sort of did raise a few red flags. It wouldn't be the first time a guy his age became infatuated with a girl her age. "What's his name?"

"Killian Jones." All three girls said in unison as their eyes shifted to something behind Emma. Both detectives turned around to find a boy standing just outside the gate smoking a cigarette. He was in tight black jeans and a black leather jacket with black heeled boots. That's all Emma could make out from there.

"That him?"She asked turning back around to face the girls.

They all nodded. "Yes." Mal replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if he raped Regina. Luckily for him you'll get to him before I do."

"Is that a threat?" Olivia asked.

Mal looked up at her and gave her a sweet smile. "Why, no Detective, it's merely an observation."

Olivia smirked a bit and nodded. "I see..."

Mal shrugged. "Sure would hate for him to lose his tiny dick and testicles." At Olivia's raised brow Mal raised her hands in surrender. "I'm just making a comment."

The detectives shared a look. That was enough questions for now. "Well, thank you for your time." Emma muttered as she reached into her pocket and produced a card. "Give me a call if you can think of anything else." She handed it over to Mal. The girl took it and read it over.

Mal nodded with a frown. Emma and Olivia began to turn to leave the girls alone but Mal's voice stopped her dead in her tracks. "Can I go see Regina?" She asked.

Emma turned to look at the girl who didn't look so big and bad then. Instead she looked small and scared, clearly shaken up by her friend's condition. The detective gave the teen a small smile. "I think she would like to see you when she wakes up. She's over at New York Presbyterian."

Mal nodded. "Thanks."

Emma nodded in return then she and Olivia continued on their way. She needed to chat with this Killian kid. He could have easily hurt Regina. It wouldn't be the first time that infatuation turned to a crime of passion. The beating that Regina sustained shown that this person was extremely angry or they knew her. Killian could very much fit both criteria.

"Regina is a lesbian." Olivia whispered. "Did you see that one coming?"

Emma chuckled with a shake of her head. She tried not to make assumptions from first impressions but in all reality she didn't expect Regina to actually be out, especially with a mother like Cora. This girl is very brave. "Hell no."

"The mother hated that."

"Which must have made her feel like her mother hated her." Emma sighed. She's dealt with that. She was a bisexual kid in the foster system. She had fallen for many girls in her time but she could never act on those feelings for fear of what may happen to her if anyone found out. It happened once. She was caught kissing a female classmate by her foster father. He blew up and the next day she was sent back. After that she suppressed that part of herself for so long and it was almost painful to do so. Things are different now but she will always have those scars. "I've been there. It's hard as hell."

Olivia shook her head with a look of sympathy on her face. "I can't even imagine. That must be so scary for a kid."

Emma sighed. "It's horrifying."

"At least she has Mal. She has someone who gets her and will protect her. I got a good feeling from that girl." Olivia said.

Emma nodded in agreement as they weaved through the students heading back towards the entrance. The crowd had thinned out significantly so it was a bit easier. They stepped back onto the busy sidewalk where the kids were dispersing in different directions.

They looked over to find Killian still standing there with a few other boys. She glanced over at Olivia who gave her a nod. They then began heading towards the boys. He was taking a swig from something that looked like a flask when they walked up. Emma shook her head as they stopped a few feet away from him.

She looked him over. He was tall, slim, dark hair and sharp blue eyes. His skin was fair but he was a bit more tanned than Emma. He had two diamond earrings in his ears and a tattoo of an anchor on his neck. His leather jacket was left unzipped revealing a black v-neck tee that was low enough to reveal his dark chest hair.

Killian looked like that guy. The type of guy that preys on nice girls like Regina. Would he rape her? Usually not directly but they do get off on hurting girls. Breaking their hearts rather. She set her jaw at that thought. She was so protective of Regina already that the thought of him using Regina made her want to punch him... hard.

"Killian Jones." Olivia said stepping closer. The boy looked over at them. His eyes that were outlined with more eyeliner than Emma owned raked over Olivia in a very inappropriate way before doing the same to Emma.

He smirked and gave them what Emma assumed was supposed to be a smoldering look. "Yes. What can I do for you lovely ladies?"

Emma and Olivia shared a look before taking out their badges out at the same time and holding them up to his face. "Detective Swan." Emma introduced herself. "This is my partner, Detective Benson."

The boys around Killian suddenly looked panicked. Killian, not so much. He kept his eyes on Emma's and maintained his cool guy demeanor. "Detectives... it's not every day I get questioned by lady cops. Then again, sexy cops with boobs are rare."

Emma balled her hands into fists at her side. What a sexist little asshole. She wished that she could arrest him just for his misogynistic statement alone. She hated him already. He had no respect for women and he thought he was a gift to womankind. Not in her world. She found him to be useless and repulsive already. A member of the small group that refused to evolve.

She was so glad that Henry was a gentleman already. He greeted women on the street, held doors open for them and would often give up his seat for a lady. He always spoke gently to his mother and was always kind. At only six, Henry understood that his mother was capable of doing anything that a man could. She was just as strong, just as brave and just as smart. He knew that gender meant nothing about a person's heart. Henry was a good kid and she thought despite her flaws she was doing well with him. Looking at Killian was just proof of that.

"I hope that's apple juice in that flask." Olivia sounded so bored and irritated.

His grin remained. "Yes ma'am." He said handing it over to his friend. The short round boy in the red worn hat took it and shoved it deep into his coat pocket.

The smell of rum surrounding the boys said that it wasn't apple juice at all. They knew this but they were not going to bust him for underage drinking or public intoxication because they needed some information. "Good." Was all Olivia said.

"I have some questions for you." Emma said stepping closer. "Regarding a senior in this school. Regina Mills."

Killian's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't touch her, I swear."

Emma growled low in her chest and she took a menacing step toward him. "Excuse me?" She asked darkly.

"I never touched her." He repeated.

Emma saw red and before she could catch herself she was on him. She pushed him up against the gate and grabbed the front of his jacket. His eyes had turned frightened. "What did you do to her?!" She grounded out.

"Nothing!" The boy cried.

"What do you know?" She pressed.

"About what?" He asked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Emma growled into his face. She saw Mallory and her friends exit the gate out of her peripheral. Mal was glaring at Killian. The blonde girl said nothing however and she and her friends headed off in the opposite direction.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I swear." He cried.

"Bullshit." Emma screamed. She pulled him off the gate and slammed him back into it, causing the metal to rattle.

"That's a little hard to believe. We come to question you about an underage girl that you know that was raped and the first thing you say is that you didn't touch her." Olivia pointed out. She was completely unfazed by Emma's aggression. She does work with Elliot after all.

"Wh-what?" He stammered. "What girl? Who?" He couldn't be this stupid.

"You don't even know her name?" Emma screamed pushing him further into the gate. His friends had moved back and were just watching. "Regina Mills. Your victim has a name, you little prick!"

The look of shock on Killian's face was almost believable. "Regina was raped?" He asked. His eyes locked on Emma's. "Is she okay?"

"She's alive which is terrible news for you." Emma hissed. He looked at Olivia then back at Emma.

"Can I see her?" He asked.

Emma chuckled darkly and removed one of her hands from him only to push her elbow up to his throat causing him to gag. She leaned in close to his face. "Fuck. You!"

"What?" He gasped out under the pressure of Emma's arm pressing against his windpipe. "I just want to know if she's alright or if she needs anything. "

Emma chuckled again and put more pressure against his throat. He gagged and she found that satisfying. "You have two options; come with us to the station so you can answer a few questions or we arrest you for underage drinking. Choose."

Killian hesitated and looked over at his friends. They looked as horrified as he was. Emma had to admit that it was nice to wipe that smug look off his stupid face. He looked back to Emma and nodded. "Okay."

Emma shoved him further into the gate before releasing him. He bent over and began coughing trying to breathe.

"Let's go." Olivia said grabbing his arm. She began dragging him towards the car before he could try to escape. Emma watched them go before turning back to his friends. They all looked ready to flee.

"If I find out that any of you had anything to do with it, I will be coming back for you. I swear to god I will make you hurt... badly." She narrowed her eyes at them. This was not a threat but a promise."Do you understand me?" She asked in a warning tone. The boys all nodded quickly. "Good. Now get out of here. You're trespassing."

She only had to say it once because in an instant the boys fled from the scene. She watched them as they scattered down the street. When the last boy disappeared around the corner she nodded to herself in satisfaction then turned on her heels and began heading for the car.

When she reached the curb she saw Olivia shove Killian in the backseat. She definitely needed to disinfect the backseat later. She glanced in both directions before heading across the street.

She let out a heavy sigh as she neared her car. Killian was her first suspect. She just needed a moment to get her head right before she began questioning him. She was very emotional about this case. She had a strong feeling that this kid did it. Now she just had to prove it.

* * *

Emma slammed her hand down on the table causing the kid across from her to flinch. "I am not going to ask you again, Killian, where were you last night?!"

Killian looked up at her and she could see that he was on the verge of tears. Not so tough now. "I told you I was home."

Emma scoffed. She wasn't buying it. She could practically smell the guilt on him. "And I'm supposed to believe that a cool guy like you was at home all evening?"

Killian shrugged. "It doesn't matter what you believe..." He snapped. " I was home. My older brother Liam was there. Just call and ask him."

Emma nodded. "As if people don't lie..." she muttered. "He's your brother. I doubt he would tell us that you weren't home last night because you were out brutally beating and raping a young girl for hours."

Killian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was getting nervous. Nervous is good. She just needed to work on him a little longer and he would confess. "He's an honest guy. He wouldn't lie."

"Says you." Emma scoffed.

"I'm telling the truth!" He cried. Emma groaned and slammed her hands on the table again in frustration.

"Why'd you do it?" Emma heard a voice ask from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Detective Elliot Stabler standing behind her, propped up against the door.

She didn't even hear him come in. She was grateful for him deciding to step in and help because if this kid was guilty Elliot could definitely get him to confess.

"Do what?" Killian whined and hid his face in his hands. He let out a long sigh and ran his hands up until his fingers combed through his dark hair again.

"Why did you viciously rape and beat Regina Mills?" Elliot barked as he pushed off of the door and began storming over to the table. Instead of stopping on the other side beside Emma, he rounded the table. He marched right up to Killian and got in his face. "Huh?" He asked staring Killian down. "She say no? She lead you on so you took?"

"I didn't rape Regina Mills... I'm really into her. I could never hurt her." Tears were welling up in his eyes and Emma knew that he was going to burst into tears at any moment.

"I bet he's not used to hearing no." Emma pointed out crossing her arms over her chest. She narrowed her eyes at the boy. "She get you all riled up then backed out so, you threw a tantrum?"

"Wanted to teach her a lesson for being a tease?" Elliot added.

"No..." Killian breathed out. "No. I care about Regina. I would never hurt her! Ask her. She'll tell you!"

"She's damn near in a coma because of you..." Elliot growled. "That's why we're asking you, moron!"

"And I'm telling you it wasn't me." Killian cried out.

"I'm not buying it. You're used to getting your way..." Emma said lowly.

"Regina's a lesbian. She likes chicks." He blew out a breath. "I like her but I know I don't stand a chance. She's my friend. That's it."

Emma wasn't buying the 'good guy' act. Killian Jones was a pig but she couldn't prove it. She needed more than him being a creep to prove that he hurt Regina. "Right... she's a lesbian which means you have no chance with your dream girl. How does that make you feel? Does it make you mad?"

The kid shrugged again. "It sucks and I'm disappointed but it is what it is. Plenty of other chicks out there. None as cute as Regina but oh well."

"You know what I think?" Emma questioned.

Killian sighed. "No."

"No wait." Stabler cut in as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's see if we're on the same page."

Emma smirked at the man. "Be my guest..."

Elliot cleared his throat and kept his eyes on Emma as he spoke. "Okay, so he got frustrated because the girl he loved was into other girls so he decided to take what he wanted by force, hoping that it would make Regina change her mind..."

Emma nodded and hit the table again. She wagged a finger at Elliot. "Exactly or straighten her out."

"Great minds think alike" Elliot said stoically, tapping his temple with his index finger.

"You two are completely wrong. I would never force a girl to do anything." Killian groaned then and slapped his hand on the table. He turned his attention away from the detectives towards the single gated window.

Emma sighed. She was tired of this game. "Hey, Stabler, how long do you think Killy here will last in prison?"

At her words, Killian turned around then and his eyes locked with her. She could see the fear in them and that of course made her smirk and gave her an ounce of satisfaction.

Elliot looked over Killian for a moment then shook his head. "Not very long before he's someone's plaything in there."

Killian gasped then and looked at Elliot. His eyes were wide and he was shaking his head.

Emma's smirk grew. "Won't be long then until he knows exactly what Regina went through."

The tears began falling then and he broke down into ugly sobs. Emma made a face as she watched the blubbering idiot before her. She felt that she was close for a moment but of course she wasn't.

"He should just confess so we can make a deal." Elliot suggested plainly.

"I didn't touch Regina!" The kid bellowed. His voice was raw with emotion and he was shaking. Killian Jones was scared shitless and that is exactly what she wanted.

"So give us a DNA sample so we can rule you out." Emma declared simply.

Killian frowned and wiped his nose with his sleeve. Emma and Elliot shared looks of disgust. That of course was not the grossest thing they've had a suspect do in an interrogation room.

He looked at Emma. "Do I need a lawyer?"

This idiot is asking if he needs a lawyer? God! "Do you?" She asked with a raise of her brows. "I mean, we're trying to rule you out... that's all."

Killian realized that he has no choice and conceded. "Okay."

Emma looked over at Elliot. She was surprised and it nearly knocked her on her ass. She really thought Killian would be smarter than to incriminate himself. It seems like she was wrong.

Emma and Elliot shared a look. She wished she could high five him but that would be in bad taste and unprofessional.

She didn't want Killian to chicken out so she had to speed things up.

"Great. I'll be right back..." She tilted her head towards the door and Elliot nodded his understanding. She turned on her heel and began heading for it. She could hear the other detective following.

They slipped out of the room to find Olivia and their Lieutenant Cragen watching through the one sided glass. "He agreed to the sample." Emma said throwing her arms up in defeat.

"But that's a good thing." Cragen pointed out.

Emma shrugged. "I mean, sure I guess but I don't trust it."

"You think he's good for it?" Cragen asked turning back to the glass. Killian was sitting there with his elbows propped up on the table and his face in his hands.

"I do."

"So do I." Elliot agreed. "This guy is nineteen years old and preys on young girls. Regina Mills is as young and innocent as he could have without consequence. A perfect target for a predator like him."

"You think he's a pedophile?" Olivia asked finally turning away from the window, giving the other detectives her attention.

"Or a pedophile in the making." Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. Regina was very mature physically and even carried herself as an adult. She wasn't one however, not really. She looked older but her age alone could very well get him off. School girl in a uniform basically. He liked them young but he was playing it safe with an older teen until he got more comfortable. This meant that he could eventually work his way down from seventeen year olds to fourteen year olds. Emma wanted to nip that in the bud before he got that far. "We won't know for sure until we get a sample, Regina wakes up or he confesses."

"So it's out of our hands for now." Elliot concluded with an exasperated sigh. "I don't like that, Liv..." He held his partner's eyes. "Let's work on getting that sample."

Olivia nodded. "Okay. I'm on it."

She turned on her heel and headed out of the room to make a few phone calls. Emma sighed and turned back to the glass. She watched Killian for a moment. His shoulders were shaking as he sobbed. Emma hadn't an ounce of sympathy for him.

Cragen glanced at their suspect. "If he's pretending then he's a pretty good actor." He put his hands into his pockets.'"Well, we will know soon enough."

Well not soon enough for Emma's liking but what he said was true. "Right."

He nodded his head then patted Emma on the shoulder. He headed for the door as well. He stopped and gave Emma a nod before stepping out. When the door closed, Elliot and Emma took their places in front of the glass. They watched Killian with matching disgusted expressions on their faces. What a phony..

"We're going to nail this guy." Elliot muttered.

"Oh yeah..." Emma agreed. She knew she would. She would never stop until she feels that Regina had gotten all of the justice she deserves.

* * *

A tech came to the station and took the DNA sample from Killian. Shortly after Elliot and Emma were informed that they could no longer hold him so they reluctantly let him go but not without threatening him that if she ever caught him near that school again she was going to haul his ass straight to rikers.

Emma hated releasing him onto the streets again but there was nothing she could do. The DNA would be back soon enough and they could go from there. At least now they had collected more. She was eager to lock him up and throw away the key. Right now she had to just sit tight.

She hadn't gotten a call from the hospital about Regina so she decided to go check on her on her way home. Well, she said on her way but the hospital was well out of her way in the complete opposite direction in fact. She however didn't care. She needed to know that Regina was alright and she wouldn't be able to rest until she saw her again.

After wishing all of her co-workers a goodnight she headed straight to the hospital. She breezed straight through to Regina's room with the help of her badge. Emma was surprised that when she peeked into the girl's room she didn't find Cora Mills sitting there with her but instead there was Mallory Grey sitting at the edge of the girl's bed just staring at her. She couldn't believe that Cora managed to pull herself away from her child after the spectacle she put on for Emma. Maybe Detective Swan shouldn't have been surprised after all since Cora seemed to be fake.

Emma glanced down at her watch. It was late. Visiting hours had been over at least half an hour ago but there was Mal.

"We asked her to leave but she wouldn't." The sound of the voice startled Emma and she jumped. She glanced over her shoulder and found a nurse standing beside her with her arms crossed and a disapproving look on her face. "She isn't making any noise and Miss Mills has a private room curtesy of her mother but rules are rules. She seemed highly upset so I let her stay."

Emma nodded and turned back to the girls. "That's nice of you." She muttered sarcastically.

"Sure but she needs to leave soon."

Emma raised a hand to silence her. Visiting hours was the least of Regina's problems at the moment. Emma was partially relieved that Mal stayed with Regina and she wasn't left alone in case she woke up. "I got it."

The nurse nodded then turned on her heel and headed off down the hallway. Emma rolled her eyes. Why couldn't they give this girl a break? Her best friend nearly lost her life for God's sake.

Emma sighed and stepped into the room. "Hey Mal."

The other blonde girl looked over her shoulder and sighed upon seeing Emma. "They call you because I wouldn't leave?"

Emma shoved her hands into her back pockets and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm here to see how Regina is doing." She answered.

Mal dipped her head in understanding. She looked less defensive then. "She hasn't woken up."

Emma knew that she would be screwed for the entirety of the case. She let herself get emotionally involved but damn it she couldn't help herself. The guilt she had been feeling paired with the way she felt about the victim was simply a death wish. She wouldn't shake Regina or this case until the case was solved and she knew that.

"She will."

"The doctor said that she could wake up any time she felt like it. She isn't in a coma and her brain activity is normal." Mal shrugged with a shake of her head. "She just doesn't want to wake up."

Emma's heard of this before. It's rare but it happens and she would be lying if she said she didn't understand why Regina would never want to wake up. It was a traumatizing experience but staying asleep wouldn't help.

"She's really tired." Emma concluded. She didn't mean from this alone but generally.

Mallory nodded. "That's probably what it is."

"Why don't you head home?" Emma suggested. "Don't you have school in the morning?"

"With all due respect, fuck school. My best friend was hurt." Mal said but there was no malice in her tone. She just sounded like an upset kid.

"The best thing right now is to go about your night and day as planned. Regina would want that."

Mal looked over her shoulder and gave Emma a look that said 'how would you know what Regina wants?' But she didn't verbalize it. Instead she nodded her head and stood up. She squeezed Regina's hand. "Rest up, kiddo. I'll see you tomorrow." She then lowered her voice but Emma could still hear her. "I miss you." She bent over then and kissed Regina's forehead.

She straightened up as she smoothed down her clothes and began heading towards Emma. Emma gave her a small smile and Mal somewhat returned it as she stopped directly in front of the detective. "Killian did it, huh?"

Emma shrugged. "Don't know. We sent his DNA to the lab. We're going to see if it matches what we found on Regina."

Mal looked highly annoyed. "He did it."

Emma sighed. She couldn't really discuss the case with this girl. "Innocent until proven guilty."

That received an eye roll from the teen. "Yeah right."

Emma smirked a bit. "I know."

"Well when you do get him let me know."

Emma nodded. "You got it."

Mal nodded in return and glanced over her shoulder at Regina. She then looked back at Emma. "Um... if Gina wakes up, can you please tell her I was here and it took me almost an hour to find flowers that I thought she would like?"

Emma glanced over at the table and saw the two almost three dozen pink and white daisies in a white vase. There was a cute little get well soon card propped up against it. The Detective thought it was so sweet and despite Mal's bad girl act, she did have a heart and it belonged to Regina Mills.

Emma gave Mal a reassuring nod. "I will. I'll have her call you, too."

Mal's smile grew. "Great."

She stepped around Emma and began heading out of the room. Emma glanced over at Regina and just listened as Mal's heels faded from the room. Emma looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Mal peeking in through the window, giving her friend one last look before heading home.

Emma let out a long sigh and turned back to Regina. It had been a long day and she was so tired. She felt like she hadn't accomplished anything since Killian hadn't been arrested. Instead he was home. She rolled her eyes at that. How could he live with himself knowing what he had done?

She shrugged out of her jacket as she made her way across the room. She stopped at the visitor's chair and hung her jacket on the back of it before taking a seat.

She sat back in the chair and watched the girl for a moment. There was a steady, strong rise and fall of her chest. At least she was breathing alright. The beep of the heart monitor was steady as well.

"You know... Um..." Emma spoke to the sleeping girl. "We brought Killian Jones in for questioning today."

Regina didn't move and she stayed completely still. Emma was hoping for some type of reaction. She just wanted the girl to wake up. It wasn't fair that Regina was lying in a hospital bed while her attacker was running free.

"He claimed he didn't hurt you but I don't know... we took DNA from him. We won't get the results back for a while."

Emma sighed and crossed one leg over the other. She just had to let Regina know what was going on and keep her in the loop.

Emma felt a sudden vibration in her jeans pocket before her personal phone began ringing. She fished it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was Ruby. She quickly answered the call.

"Hey Ruby, Look. I'm-"

"Hi Mommy!"

Emma sighed with a chuckle at the sound of her son's adorable voice. "Hey Kid. What are you doing up so late?"

"I'm waiting for you..."

"Oh." Emma rubbed a hand over her face. "I won't be home any time soon. This case is-"

"Is the girl okay?" Henry asked curiously. "Did you see her?"

Emma smiled at her son's concern. Her eyes fell on the girl in question. She didn't want to disturb her so she stood up and made her way to the opposite side of the room. "She's okay. She's sleeping now though." She explained as she leaned against the window and stared down at the street below.

The streetlights were providing light for the people busily moving about out there. It didn't surprise her that so many people were still out so late. This is the city that never sleeps after all.

"That's good. Tell her I said I'm glad she's okay."

Emma chuckled at that. "I will, Henry."

"Did you catch the bad guy, yet?" He inquired.

Emma sighed. She really wished that she had better news for him. "Not yet but we will."

"Yes. You will!" Henry agreed firmly.

Emma smiled at her son's confidence. She envied his optimism. "How was the rest of your day?"

"Good." He exclaimed. "Me and Ruby made pizza!"

Emma gasped, playing along with his excitement. "You did?"

He hummed the affirmative and she could imagine the big nod he was giving her. "We made you one, too. It's in the fridge."

"Wow. Thanks kid, I can't wait to try it."

Henry giggled. "Will you be home soon?"

"Very soon, Honey."

He fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "I won't see you before bed?"

Emma felt an instant pang of guilt at her son's heartbroken tone. "Not tonight. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. You have to protect the girl." Henry said seriously. "I will be okay. I have Ruby and Granny. She doesn't have anyone to protect her so, she can have you for a while."

Emma had come to the conclusion that her son was the sweetest child on earth. He cared so much for a girl that he didn't even know and had never met. That made Emma's heart squeeze and that made her even prouder of him. "Of course you will be just fine because you're my tough guy."

"Yes I am!"

"And I will take good care of her. Don't you worry."

"I know you will." Henry said. "You always take care of everyone."

That made Emma laugh. "Oh Henry, you are too much. Anyway, get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay mommy! Night!" He exclaimed before blowing her a kiss through the phone.

Emma blew one back. "Love you, Buddy."

"Love you too, Mommy!"

"Goodnight kid."

"Night mommy!" He said before disconnecting the call. She didn't need to speak to Ruby because she had already messaged her and let her know what was going on.

Emma sighed as she stared down at her phone screen. Well, she was officially homesick now. She could make it home in time to be there when Henry woke up. She just wanted to hold him and give him a big good morning kiss.

"My daddy's name is Henry." A groggy, scratchy voice said from behind her.

Emma whirled around then to find Regina lying in bed with her head turned to face her. Her eyes were wide open and she was very much awake. Emma gasped. "You're awake." She breathed.

Regina nodded and went to shift but winced at the pain. "Where am I?" She asked looking around.

"You're in the hospital, Regina. I'm Detective Emma Swan. Do you remember anything that has happened to you?" Emma asked softly as she moved closer to the bed.

Regina fell silent then and her eyes glazed over with unshed tears. She nodded and her lip trembled. "Someone raped me." She choked out.

Emma could tell right then and there when it dawned on her. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." She said gently, she kept her eyes on Regina's as the girl gulped and gasped between sobs. "Can you tell me who hurt you?" She then asked gently.

Regina bit her lip and began shaking her head. A tiny whimper escaped her and Emma's heart shattered. She had so much fear. "No."

"No?" Emma asked, leaning on the railing of the bed. "You didn't get a good look at him?"

"I can't tell you." Regina whispered. "May I please have some water?"

Emma nodded and rounded the bed to the little table right beside Regina. She grabbed the pink plastic cup and the matching pitcher and began filling it with the room temperature water. She filled it half way and handed it over to Regina. The girl took it and began drinking greedily. It was gone in seconds. Emma leaned over and took the now empty cup from her. "Need more?"

Regina shook her head. "No thank you."

"I can go get you some ice, if you like?" Emma suggested.

"That's alright." Regina insisted timidly.

Emma gave the girl a smile. "Okay cool. Just let me know."

Regina nodded.

Emma sat the cup down and headed back to the bed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, tell me who attacked you."

"I can't!" Regina cried as her tears finally sprang free again. "My mother wou-" she cut herself off and looked towards the window. She flinched as soon as she saw how dark it was. She turned back to Emma with sheer terror in her eyes. "What time is it?"

Emma checked her watch. "Quarter after nine."

"Oh no..." Regina breathed. "Mother is going to kill me." She moved to get up but Emma reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder holding her there.

"Whoa kid, where are you going?" She asked.

"I should have been home hours ago. My mother would be quite upset." Regina explained frantically.

"You mother would want you to recover from being assaulted." Emma said firmly, not removing her hand. What was this kid thinking and why was she so spooked.

Regina struggled against Emma's grip. "You don't know my mother..."

"So enlighten me." Emma pressed. She heard that Cora was a monster and if Regina told her a similar story Emma could help her.

"I have to leave." She tried to get up again but Emma held her down which didn't take much with the girl's size and weakened state. "You cannot leave. Your mother knows anyway. She was here."

Regina froze then and looked up at her with wide frightened eyes. Emma expected relief to wash over her but instead the fear set in deeper. "What did she say?" She asked carefully.

Emma shrugged. "Nothing significant. She was worried about you and asked me to catch whoever hurt you."

Regina made a confused face and shook her head. "Really?"

Emma couldn't understand why she was so confused about her mother being worried about her but she probably had her reasons, and Emma planned to find out what they were.

The detective nodded. "Really."

Regina settled back then. "She wasn't mad?"

"Why would she be mad? It wasn't your fault."

Regina sighed and laid back against the pillow. "I don't know."

"You have to tell me who hurt you."

"I cant, I cant, I can't." Regina sobbed out.

"Why not?" Emma pressed.

"He can hurt me and my family." Regina said softly.

"Regina, I won't let that happen. Tell me."

"Please don't make me tell!" Regina cried. She began breathing heavily as if she was hyperventilating. Emma could feel her fear and it only upset her. This kid was abused so badly that she was afraid to tell who put her in the hospital. "Please!"

Regina's monitors began beeping erratically and Emma knew that something was wrong. "Regina, okay, okay calm down."

Regina had her hand on her chest and was wheezing heavily as she struggled to bring in air. She was on the verge of a panic attack. Emma turned and began to go look for a nurse but before she could take a step, a group of about three nurses came rushing in.

"What happened?" the first nurse asked as she sidled up to Emma. She was a bit older and she had a very kind face. Emma stepped aside to give her room.

The detective watched helplessly as the nurses crowded around the girl, frightening her more.

"No stop!" Regina cried. Emma felt that in a way it was her fault. She pushed too hard.

"What happened?" the nurse asked again looking over her shoulder at Emma.

Emma sighed. "I was asking her if she knew her attacker. She wouldn't tell me. Whoever this son of a bitch is scared her to death."

The nurse nodded. "I have something for this."

She exited the room quickly. Emma watched the scene unfold before her of the girl struggling to get free from the two nurses holding her down. She wanted to make them leave the kid alone but she couldn't.

"Let me go!" Regina screamed.

"Is that really necessary?" Emma asked as she watched them hold the screaming girl down as she fought against them.

"Yes." One of them replied.

"So she won't hurt herself." Said the other.

Emma let out a sigh and just watched on helplessly. The older nurse returned with a vial and a syringe. Emma furrowed her brow. "What's that?"

"Something to calm her." Was all she said as she stood beside Regina's bed. She filled the syringe and brought the needle to the girl's iv then injected the clear substance into it. "That should do it."

The other nurses released Regina after her struggling weakened as the medication began to immediately take effect. The older nurse rubbed her hand over Regina's head. "You're going to be okay now, Honey." She whispered kindly. The nurse turned to Emma as the other nurses checked Regina over. "Maybe you should go. She is going to be sedated soon and unable to answer any questions."

"No!" Regina cried weakly. "Please let her stay. I don't want to be alone."

The nurse looked back to Regina then turned to Emma. She sighed deeply with a shake of her head. "Fine but no questioning until the morning."

Emma agreed. That was fair. "Okay."

The nurse smiled. "Okay. Let me know if she needs anything."

"You got it." Emma said.

The nurse smiled again. She checked Regina's vitals then with a dip of her head, she swept out of the room. The other two nurses followed, leaving Emma alone with Regina.

Emma looked at the girl that was staring up at her from beneath heavy eyelids. "Falling asleep?"

"I just woke up." Regina sighed.

Emma chuckled. "Sorry."

Regina shook her head softly. "It's not your fault. You're trying to help like before."

Oh, so she did remember her. Emma wasn't quite sure if she had but it was good that she trusted her.

"Yeah. So let me help you." Emma whispered.

Regina groaned tiredly. "I can't."

"Okay, don't worry about that tonight. Just sleep and try to get better and stronger."

Regina reached for Emma's hand. Emma was surprised for a moment but then she quickly latched on to the hand offered to her. She gave it a squeeze.

"I'm so scared." Regina whispered softly.

"This is scary so I don't blame you but you are very brave. You'll get through this."

"I hope you're right." Regina whispered. "And I am not strong. I'm as weak as they come."

Those words broke Emma's heart along with the defeat in the girl's voice. "You are stronger than you know, Regina." Emma whispered back.

Regina nodded softly then her eyes closed. The grip on Emma's hand loosened as the girl gave in to sleep.

Emma just watched her for a moment. It would be nice if they could get Regina to talk. Maybe Huang can sit in. He had a very comforting presence and a way of dealing with traumatized victims.

Either way they needed Regina's help to find her attacker. When Regina awoke she will ask her about Killian and they will go from there.

She wanted to show Regina just how brave and strong she could be and that began with showing her how to fight back.

* * *

 **Nothing is ever what it seems...**

 **Thanks for reading.**


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